Commander Pillow
by Oceanera12
Summary: Every clone has a name, earned through, adventures, actions, choices, or characteristics. It can tell a lot about a clone whether it's a simple adjective or noun. But some names are a mystery in their origin. Commander Cody seems like an average name. If you look it up, it can mean helpful, wealthy, or pillow. ...Wait, what? Cody and brotherly bonding story. (NON-SLASH)
1. Trooper Pillow

**Hi y'all! So first Star Wars Fanfiction (of many to be coming) and I hope y'all enjoy them. I'm Oceanera12, but you can call me Era. (; So explanation on how the heck we came up with this. Yes, _we. Say Hi, Padawan._**

 _HI! I'm ArtyandTintinFan!_

 **Yep. Their my 'Padawan' and I'm their 'Master'. We wrote this together and had quite a time. You'll laugh, you'll cry-**

 _Mostly cry though._

 **-Padawan!**

 _Well, it's true!_

 **Never mind... But still! You know what, let's explain at the end because no one wants to hear us bickering.**

 _Okay!_

 **... Without further ado, COMMANDER PILLOW!**

* * *

Chapter 1: Trooper Pillow

"Medic! Coming through!" a clone medic shouted, as he shoved his way through the halls of Kamino towards the docking bay.

Several cadets, who were just returning from a training exercise, noted the movement and after an exchange of smiles, ducked away from the rest of their group.

Joining the small group of rebels was CC-2224, a little reluctant to be going along with the band. This sort of activity had gotten his 'squad' in trouble before and the sight of messy platters from the mess hall along with that horrid smell would not leave his memory anytime soon. Weren't they getting a little too old for this slacking off? A Captain was supposed to be an example, not a rebel. Their final test was in a few weeks, and he did not want to be assigned on maintenance.

The five cadets arrived at the docking bay to complete chaos. Unfortunately for them, their presence did not go unnoticed. Fortunately for them, they were not in trouble. In fact, their arrival was most welcome. Injured troopers needed help getting to the medical bay- and five healthy and rested clones were just what the medics needed.

CC-2224 witnessed what carnage battle could leave behind as a steady stream of troops began to head to the medical center. He had overheard some guards talking about how the first of their brothers had been launched to fight on Geonosis, but he hadn't thought he'd see the damage it had done.

As he helped a wounded trooper to a transport, another gunship landed. When it opened several troopers were trying to help a man out. A man who did not look like anyone on the planet.

Two medics abandoned the transport and rushed over to him, but he pushed them away, saying in an accented voice, "I'm fine!"

CC-2224 dropped his trooper off, then was ordered to go help the other medics with the stranger. As he drew closer to the small group, he took note of the man's clothing, a brown robe with light tunics. As he approached, he heard one of the medics trying to get the man to sit down.

"General, let me-"

"I'm fine."

At the word 'general', CC-2224 realized that the injured man was a Jedi. He drew closer, a little curious. He'd never actually seen a Jedi and was a little disappointed on how plain the man looked. His robe touched the floor and was wrapped around him, his tunic barely seen underneath. His belt was made of leather and had a silver tube hooked on the left side. CC-2224 guessed the tube was a lightsaber, the weapon choice of the Jedi. The Jedi looked exhausted and was limping slightly, but would not let the medics even touch him.

CC-2224 had the sudden urge to run in the opposite direction in intimidation. Jedi were the generals of the army, and he wasn't even a trooper yet! But he had orders and he was going to follow them… whether it involved a stubborn Jedi or not. Besides, his training as a future Commander would require him to have interactions with a Jedi almost 24/7. This would be good experience… he hoped.

One medic, CT-6116, was trying to bandage the General's arm, but the Jedi lightly but firmly pushed him away. "I'm fine, trooper! Help someone else!"

"Um… with all do respect, sir. You-"

But the Jedi didn't stick around to listen but began to march towards the hallway.

CT-6116 exchanged a very confused look with his companion. Meanwhile, CC-2224 was rethinking that this interaction would be good experiance. He quickly shook the thought aside and straightened up. It was time to follow the General.

When CC-2224 found the Jedi, he was leaning against a wall, breathing heavily. "Um… Sir? Do you need assistance?"

The Jedi straightened up and looked at the approaching clone, his gaze a little blurry. "No, trooper. I'm just… a little tired."

"Do you- General!" CC-2224 rushed forward as the Jedi passed out. Unfortunately, the clone did not do the best job at catching the man, as he had been caught off guard when the Jedi had passed out.

When he finally got his bearings, CC-2224 found himself on his stomach, underneath the general, the Jedi's head on his back. Vaguely, he wondered how he had gotten in such a position, but shoved the thought aside. "How am I going to get up?" he asked himself aloud. The clone did not want to wake the exhausted General, or injure him any further since he did not know the extent of his injuries.

Before he could try anything, the two medics from before, along with two of his squad members walked in. The four of them just froze when they saw him on the floor, the unconscious Jedi on his back.

After a moment, CT-7567 chuckled and crouched down by the grounded clone. "What happened? Did the Jedi need a pillow?"

"Just help me get him off of me," CC-2224 groaned.

The two medics lifted the Jedi onto a stretcher and carried him out of the hallway. The remaining two clones helped the 'pillow' to his feet.

"Can we just forget this happened?" CC-2224 asked.

The squad members exchanged a glance and then smirked. "No."

It only took half a day for word to spread around Kamino that CC-2224 had been a Jedi's 'pillow'. Another half day and everyone ceased calling him by his number, and starting calling him Pillow.

Someone (he suspected it was CC-2078) had even leaked the nickname to the very young trainees. He was not very happy about the situation. The fact that he was known as 'Pillow' was one of the drives that got him to get an actual name, not a number (or horrible nickname).

It literally took him going on to the holonet and finding a name that meant 'pillow' in order to change it. Then it took another week to convince everyone in the base that was what Cody meant. Eventually they believed him and some even started to take on actual names as well.

But at times, his fellow troops would teasingly call him 'Pillow', much to Cody's annoyance. It only made it worse when many troopers would use him as a pillow at random points during training. Cody knew that when they reached the actual lines, it would continue, but he, like a lot of his brothers, was eager to get out in the field.

* * *

 **Yay! Cody was used as a Pillow! Okay, NOW we explain.**

 **One day one of my other friends/co-writers (HaloEssence111) was typing in random names and meanings. So turns out that the name Cody can mean PILLOW. And Padawan and I just sort of... well went a little crazy with the idea.**

 _A little crazy? We went insane! Just wait till you see the rest of the story (which is already done)._

 **Very true. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Leave a review or PM your thoughts. More will be coming soon (and may I point out that the entire story is already finished- so no worry that it get's discontinued. YAY!)**


	2. Meeting the General

Chapter 2: Meeting the General

Cody stood at attention, in front of several lines of his brothers, awaiting the arrival of their General.

He ran through the mental checklist again and verified that the men were not talking amongst themselves. The last thing he wanted was a bad first impression on the General.

First impressions were important to Cody. They helped give a base point of what to expect from the person who you would be working or affiliated with. Or they helped you look better than you actually were. At that thought, Cody frowned slightly.

To be completely honest, Cody was nervous. The only other time he had met a Jedi, the man had passed out on his back. That was not the best way to be introduced to _anyone_. Somehow, Cody suspected it had been Commander Wolffe, the story had been passed throughout the ranks of the 212th Attack Battalion. Cody hoped he'd have a better impression on his General before he or she found out another Jedi had used him as a comfortable head-rest.

Was he worried that it would be the same Jedi? That worry seemed small and insignificant since the Jedi Order was HUGE. What were the chances that the 'Pillow' General and the new General were the same person?

Cody's thought's were interrupted by the sight of a landing Gun Ship. He straightened up again and took a deep breath. Time to meet the General.

Correction: time to meet the _Generals._

Not one, not two, but _six_ Jedi disembarked from the gun ship. At the same time, all six waiting battalions, or legions, came to a stiff attention. Cody had a random thought about if he dropped a blaster, everyone would be able to hear it. He quickly shook the thought out of his head and turned his attention back to the waiting Generals.

All six stood like statues, no emotion being shown...except for the one on the far left end who had this crazy grin on his face and looked highly amused. Under his helmet, Cody frowned and silently prayed that the grinning Jedi was not his future general.

The commander shook his head slightly and turned his attention to the other end of the line. First, was a tall Kel Dor. Next, was a Cerean male with a female blue Twi'lek next to him. She was followed by another female, Cody took a moment to recognize the species, Mirialan. And next to her was-

Cody froze. He mentally began to curse and tried to not panic. _Of all the Jedi in the entire galaxy- UGH!_

It had been a few minutes since the generals had arrived and none of them had moved, for reasons the clones never found out.

Unknown to everyone, each new general had been told what unit they would be over, but none of them knew how to identify whose unit was whose. For the past several minutes, the six had been having a mental debate on what to do, hence why Anakin was highly amused.

" _Maybe we could just ask."_

" _Anakin, we are not looking like complete fools in front of our future troops."_

" _Well, Master, we are already looking like fools by just standing here doing nothing."_

Obi-Wan had to give his ex-Padawan a point for that.

Meanwhile, Cody was trying to figure out how to react to the man who used him as a pillow. Should he hide? Maybe cower? Pretend like nothing has happened? He didn't know! The past two days he had mentally convinced himself that the 'Pillow' Jedi wouldn't show up!

" _What do you suggest, Master Plo Koon?"_ Aalya was scanning the lines and could find no numbers or flags for identification, taking her idea out.

" _Perhaps we should have the units identify themselves."_

Luminara mentally sighed, " _Or we could just have the commanders step forward and introduce their unit."_

With no better idea, Plo Koon called out, "All Squad Commanders and Captains report!"

Cody wanted to do the opposite, but his discipline held him in place. He marched forward with the other commanders and captains, coming to attention.

"Helmets off. We wish to see your faces." Luminara gently ordered.

Each clone complied. Cody kept his eyes locked forward and tried not to glance at the Pillow Jedi.

Unfortunately for Obi-Wan, he was dealing with his own problems. Problems known as Anakin Skywalker.

" _Wow… when they said clones, they meant clones."_

" _Anakin, focus."_

" _Do you think they could clone a Jedi?"_

" _I do not see how that has any bearing on the situation."_

" _Well, it would be cool. Then there could be two of me!"_

 _Every_ Jedi slightly stiffened at those words, and Obi-Wan went a shade paler.

" _ **FORCE, NO."**_

" _Master, it wouldn't be that bad."_

" _ **Anakin,**_ _if there was two of you, I would fly to_ _ **Mustafar**_ _and willingly_ _**die.**_ "

" _You don't mean that, Master."_

" _ **I do,**_ _Padawan. Every word."_

Master Plo Koon decided to change the subject- and fast. He addressed the first clone in line. "Identify your rank and unit."

Cody didn't blink as the first trooper stepped forward. He was trying to keep his panic from his face. Why, _oh why_ , did it have to be the 'Pillow' Jedi?

"CC-1004, Commander of the 41st Elite Corps."

Cody snapped his attention to Gree. Maybe his brother would get the 'Pillow' Jedi. Or another one of his other brothers. It would be highly likely… after all there was six Jedi. But to Cody's disappointment, the Mirialan stepped forward.

"I am Jedi Master Luminara. I will be your unit's General."

"Yes sir!"

The two walked away from the five remaining Jedi and clones.

One by one, the Jedi repeated the process, heading down the line. As each clone stepped forward, Cody felt his frustration grow even more. Finally, the only two who remained was the 'Pillow' Jedi, and the still-grinning one. Cody looked to his right and found Rex, who appeared to have a bit too serious a face.

The two remaining Jedi were talking in hushed tones, so Cody chanced a word to his brother, "I know you're laughing."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Rex, you were one of the clones who saw the 'Pillow' Jedi. I know you're laughing."

"I'm not laughing!"

" _ **Rex."**_

"Ok, maybe I am laughing, but this is just so funny!"

"It's not, it's really not…"

The Jedi's attention turned back to the two troops, and Cody had to tuck the conversation away to be discussed at a later date.

The grinning Jedi pointed at Rex, "You're up."

Cody finally sighed in defeat and hoped to be assigned to the 'Pillow' Jedi. He'd prefer a nickname over that smile, any day.

"CT-7567. Captain of the 501st Battalion." The crazy looking Jedi's grin widened, if that was possible, and he stepped forward. "I was assigned to you, Captain. Do you like adventures? You look like you do."

The Pillow Jedi glanced sharply at the crazy younger Jedi. "Anakin, manners." The crazy Jedi, Anakin, smirked at the ginger haired, older Jedi. "Sorry Master. But seriously," he turned back to the clone captain, "Do you? My Master says I like to get in trouble little too much, but who cares what he thinks?"

Cody glanced at Rex, wanting to see his brother's reaction, and was a bit surprised to see him fighting back a gleeful smile. _Maybe putting those two together isn't the greatest idea…_ Cody could already see the trouble brewing underneath.

The commander turned his attention back to the Pillow Jedi, who was now standing in front of him, looking slightly amused and exasperated at the younger Jedi's antics. "Commander CC-2224 of the 212th battalion, reporting for duty, sir." He said, snapping to salute the Jedi before him.

The Jedi smiled gently. "Hello Commander. I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi." He bowed, brown robes rustling slightly at the movement. Cody blinked. He wasn't expecting that. The other Jedi, Skywalker, hadn't done anything of the sort. He supposed the other generals must have done something similar, but he hadn't been paying attention when they introduced themselves to their troops.

Before he could say anything regarding this, the Jedi Master was standing up straight again, soft smile in place. Cody took a chance to observe the man's features, though he already recognized him from their first...meeting. The Jedi still had ginger hair, though it was shorter than the first time Cody had seen it. He had pale skin, freckles lightly dusting his cheeks and nose, and soft grey blue eyes.

The Jedi spoke again, startling the clone out of his observations. "Commander, you may stop saluting me."

Cody blinked. He didn't understand exactly why the new general phrased an order that way. He had been trained to respond to 'Parade rest!', not a polite 'You may stop saluting me'. Regardless, the Jedi had ordered that, so Cody obliged and fell easily into parade rest. His general smiled again, eyes gentle yet curious. The clone obviously wasn't the only one new to these interactions.

"Commander, if you do not mind me asking," the man began, hesitating only a second, before continuing in his accented voice, "Do you have a name?"

Cody blinked again. Maybe the general hadn't heard him the first time, or maybe this was a test. He sincerely hoped it wasn't the latter.

Kenobi must have picked up that he was slightly confused (the man _was_ a Jedi, and Cody had heard they could read minds) because he spoke again. "Besides an issued number, I mean."

Oh. That made more sense. Honestly, why couldn't Jedi just say what they meant the first time?

"Commander Cody, sir." He replied, stiffening in parade rest respectively under the general's gaze. The Jedi nodded. "Cody," Kenobi said with a slightly teasing look in his eyes, "You don't have to call me 'sir'. Obi-Wan will suffice." The clone nodded, but didn't say anything. It would be disrespectful to the general to call him that, even if the Jedi himself had requested it, and it went against all of the clone's training that had been drilled into his head from the beginning of his existence.

As they walked to join the troops, Rex caught Cody's eye for a brief moment and gave him a small smirk. Inwardly, Cody sighed, knowing the teasing that was to come. On the bright side, he wasn't with the insane General.


	3. The Commander vs The General

**Oh boy, this has been too long. Here's that update that should have been forever ago.**

Cody was annoyed with his General. Actually, that was an understatement- Cody was _furious_ with his General.

The Battle of Christophsis had not gone to plan. At all. First, one of their own had been caught as a traitor. Then, the newly arrived Commander Tano and General Skywalker went off to deactivate the Separatists shield while Rex, Cody, and General Kenobi were to hold off the incoming clackers. To top it all off, his General decided to get 'captured' in order to buy more time.

And Cody couldn't be there to keep the General out of trouble. ' _Of all the stubborn, stiff-necked Jedi-'_

He could only imagine his General sitting in chains in a cell, and the very thought made him cringe with disbelief and horror. He had failed his task- _his one simple task-_ keep his General safe. Or at least it had sounded simple when the Kaminos had drilled it into him, but apparently keeping a Jedi out of trouble was a lot harder than previously thought.

Cody glanced up as the ship carrying his brothers and him landed in the loading bay of _The Negotiator._ He quickly jumped off, scanning the crowd for any sign of his general. The clone saw a ginger flash out of the corner of his eye and thanked the heavens that his general had hair such a color to make him easily distinguishable in a crowd.

Cody made his way through his brothers, until he finally caught up with Obi-wan. "General! Are you alright?"

Obi-Wan glanced over at the clone, and gave him a small smile, something Cody was quickly discovering was an usual expression for the calm, composed Jedi. "I'm fine, Commander. And you?" His eyes quickly skimmed over the clone, searching for any injury or discomfort. The way the general was still so calm after the whole harrowing experience of being captured and held behind enemy lines made Cody's anger reappear.

He pursed his lips and set his jaw, not really caring that what he said next would be bordering insubordination. "General, never do that again."

Obi-Wan blinked mildly at the clone, but the commander could see that he was somewhat surprised at the sudden tone change. "Do what again, Cody?" The Jedi asked seemingly unruffled, but Cody could see the man knew exactly what he meant and what was coming.

 _Stubborn sneak…_

"You need to tell me when you plan to be captured! You could have been killed!" Cody vaguely was aware of several clones stopping what they were doing and watching their general and commander with curious eyes, but he didn't take notice. He was beyond caring now.

The Jedi's eyes sparked with something akin to determination. He crossed his arms tightly in front of his chest and coolly stared into his commander's furious hazel eyes. "Cody, time was of the essence. I would have told you the plan, but we were working on an extremely constrained schedule."

Cody resisted the urge to throw his arms into the air and yell in frustration. He could not believe this man was so stubborn enough not to admit defeat, but do the exact opposite and stand his ground. "General, I don't care if there wasn't any time! You could have been severely injured! I wouldn't know where to find you and how to help you in time!"

The Jedi straightened so he was standing nearly eye to eye with the commander. Cody could tell he was getting slightly frustrated, but was still refusing to back down. "I'm fine, and although that battle wasn't exactly textbook, everything worked out in the end."

Cody yanked his helmet off and tucked it under his arm, not caring about the many protocols that he was breaking in the process. "General Kenobi, it is my job, _every clone's job_ , to make sure you come out alive from a battle, _every battle_. I cannot do my job if you _willingly_ put yourself in danger."

Obi-Wan's expression went from determined to slightly shocked, but Cody didn't care about protocol or rules at the moment. "In order for me to properly do my job, I need you to stay near me and the troops, not run off and be captured!"

All around, troopers watched the argument, amused that their stubborn older brother was arguing with someone at least, if not more, stubborn than him. Two in particular, Waxer and Boil, were having a most interesting conversation about the wonderful weather they were having, all the while attempting to keep unmanly giggles from bursting out.

Obi-Wan's expression shifted back to determined, "I don't need a babysitter, _Commander_."

Cody took a step forward and narrowed his eyes, "And I don't need a Jedi's death on my hands. It makes for a lot of messy paperwork that I really do not want to do."

"I can handle myself."

"Famous last words said by every clone ever!"

"I. _Am not._ _**A clone.**_ "

"Clearly. You don't follow orders or take cover in on a firefight _or_ know that you're not invincible!"

"I don't _think_ I'm _invincible._ I just know that I can handle myself in a battle!"

"Sir. With all due respect, you weren't trained for these type of battles."

"What do you mean, _these_ type of battles?"

At this point, Wooley thought it would be beneficial to Cody's as well as the general's health, to interfere. Cody looked only one comment away from exploding and the General looked a little angry (and since Jedi were trained to hide their emotions, it was rather terrifying).

It was not an experience he ever wanted to repeat. As soon as he tried to push himself into the argument, he simultaneously received two very unnerving glares, both angry, but one with a large amount of suppressed anger. The general's was honestly more terrifying than the glare with anger at full force…

He swallowed nervously, hoping that he wouldn't be murdered on the spot by the wound up Jedi and angry clone. "Sir, maybe you should let it go…" Wooley said, addressing Cody with a meaningful look. "This isn't beneficial to anyone, and it's certainly not helping you." The older clone simply glared harder at Wooley, narrowing his eyes to show his displeasure of being interrupted.

"Well, try explaining to the general that he's got to stop thinking he's invincible and that my job- _our job_ \- is to keep him safe!"

Obi-Wan made a quiet noise of protest and was about to open his mouth again to argue, but Wooley decided to take Cody's side, and, turning to the Jedi, said, "He's right, sir."

Obi-Wan's lips pursed, and his now shockingly blue eyes narrowed. "Explain."

Wooley took a breath. "Sir, our purpose is to serve under the Jedi to fight against the Separatists. But our job is to protect the Republic and the Jedi. If any Jedi is injured or killed while we are still fighting, we've failed."

The ginger blinked, obviously thinking this over in his mind before gathering himself up again for battle. "How is this relevant to my not being trained for 'these type of battles'?" Wooley resisted the urge to sigh. He understood why Cody was really frustrated with the man. Honestly, were all Jedi this impossible?

"General, the Separatists are not like the threats during times of peace in other systems. They have millions of droids who won't hesitate to shoot anyone and anything in their path down. They aren't sentimental beings that the Jedi have battled occasionally with in the past. This is a time of full blown war, not little conflicts within systems."

Obi-Wan was starting to look like he understood. _Good,_ thought Wooley. _He sees now…_ "Sir, I'm sure you've battled many opponents in the past, but the droids aren't those opponents. You haven't had experience or training for these types of battles during times of war." The man was silent for a bit, and Wooley could practically see the Jedi's mind working out what the clone had said. He had been around Obi-Wan enough to know that the man was exceptionally good at working through puzzles and tactical approaches.

Cody spoke up then, before the Jedi had another chance to argue. "Sir, _that_ is why I've been so adamant about you being protected. You don't have the training the clones do for these battles, and although I know you can handle yourself, I must insist you stay close to me during the fights. You are too valuable to the Republic to die."

The Jedi spoke after Cody finished, eyes back to a mix of grey and blue with a tint of green shimmering beneath the surface. "Am I to understand that a soldier's purpose is to protect me at all costs?"

Both clones responded back in unison. "Yes sir."

"Hmm. I will address that at a later date, Commander." He gave a pointed look at Cody that dared him to argue back.

The clone merely stared back at his general, not knowing exactly what the Jedi meant.

Obi-Wan continued to talk, saying, "Am I also to understand that I must stay at your side at all times during a battle, Cody?" The commander nodded. The Jedi went quiet again, obviously thinking of a way out of the less than satisfactory situation. "There is one problem, Commander."

Cody wasn't sure exactly where this was going now, but he had a feeling he wouldn't like it.

"I am a Jedi and while I don't doubt you have had excellent training for battles and such, you won't be able to keep up with me in battle. Even if you do manage to, you might be hit by a bullet that I couldn't block."

Cody was getting angry again, frustrated that the Jedi had found a way out of the terms of the situation.

"What's more," continued Obi-Wan. "You must be by your men's sides, helping them fight and protecting instead of protecting me and helping me fight. I can handle myself on the frontlines."

Cody didn't doubt it; he had seen how the Jedi deflecting bolt after bolt with his glowing lightsaber and use the mysterious Force to fight off droids. No clone could do that. But he was still concerned for his general. No matter how many tricks he could do with the Force, no matter how good he was wielding a lightsaber, the Jedi was still mortal. That was what frightened the clone the most. All it would take was a stray bullet and General Kenobi could easily die or be severely injured.

 _Well, persuading General Kenobi didn't work too well, nor did arguing with him._ The commander thought, trying to figure out a way around this new problem presented by the stubborn Jedi. Nothing came to his mind. Cody made one final attempt at winning to argument. "Sir, if you believe you can't be by me during the _whole_ battle for the reasons you listed, could you consider telling me where you are regularly or at least stay within my sight?"

Obi-Wan absently stroked his beard, looking down slightly, again thinking through what the clone had said. Finding reasonable enough, he glanced back up again, released any harboring feelings into the Force, and let his serene mask slip back over him. "That sounds agreeable, Cody." He said with a small, calming smile.

The commander could have sighed with relief, but he simply nodded and said, "Of course, sir."


	4. Same Face, Same Blood, Different Solider

Cody had been injured. It wasn't too bad, just a blaster to the right shoulder… that was stinging like kriff. But Cody had seen worse and knew that he'd be fine… if he didn't bleed to death… and if he made it back to the medical tent before then. Even so, he had never seen his General so terrified in his whole life.

At the moment, the two were hunkered down behind a few rocks as clankers shot over their heads. Cody had a blaster in his right hand, his left hand pressing against the injury to stall the bleeding. General Kenobi was attempting to look at the wound, but the commander was being his stubborn self. Again.

"Just let me see-"

"General. I am fine."

"Cody, you're armor has gone from white to red in minutes. Let me see it."

"General, you must return with the others. I'll be fine."

"You will be fine? Cody, you'll die!"

The commander gritted his teeth in pain as he shifted to look at his general better, "Sir, I am a clone. You are a general. You need to get back before the droid army gets to this position. I will buy you some time-"

"Absolutely not!" Obi-Wan glared at clone. "I'm not leaving you here to die."

"General, there are thousands of me and one of you. You-"

"There is only one of you!" The Jedi growled.

Cody paused in his argument and cocked his head, trying to understand his general's logic. _Only one of me? What does he mean? There are thousands of men identical to me…_ Out loud, he simply asked, "Sir?"

He saw the Jedi sigh, tiredly running a hand through his ginger hair. "There is only one of you, Cody." The Jedi repeated, softly this time. "I can feel each of you soldiers through the Force. You have unique signatures that cannot be replaced or replicated, no matter how alike you may look and act."

Cody tilted his head slightly, very confused. "General?"

"You. Are not. The same." Obi-Wan stressed the point again. "You are different in the Force even if you look the same."

"Sir, what does that mean?" Cody grunted slightly and he suddenly realized he had dropped his blaster. He attempted to grab it, but found that the feeling was gone from his arm.

Of course this is asked in the middle of a battle… Obi-Wan had to resist the urge to sigh and snapped his focus to the incoming clankers. "Cody, I need you to stay with me."

"General, no-" The clone began to cough and his breathing was becoming more haggard. Cody vaguely realized his wound must be worse than he previously thought.

"No more arguing, Commander," the Jedi insisted.

The last thing that Cody saw was his general drawing his saber and engaging the oncoming enemy. Then everything went dark.

XXX

Everything was fuzzy and strangely muted. Cody felt like someone had stabbed his shoulder with a vibro knife. Repeatedly. He moaned and cracked open his eyes then slammed them shut as the light blinded him.

A distant voice was mumbling something and the commander strained to make it out.

"...General… fast… clankers…"

Cody opened his eyes again, blinking to focus. His vision slowly cleared and he was slightly surprised to see Rex sitting next to him, muttering to himself. The captain glanced up, and his face immediately broke into a grin. "Cody! You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Like I got ran over by a Separatist Tank."

Rex nodded slowly, "You got pretty darn close to that, actually."

"...What?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Cody scrambled his brain and remembered hunkering down behind a giant boulder… and General Kenobi falling out of the sky from nowhere landing next to him, probably using the Force… "I was pinned down with General Kenobi, trying to get him to leave."

The other clone nodded, patiently waiting for Cody to continue. The commander furrowed his brows, thinking. General Kenobi wouldn't leave, saying something about the Force… and everything was blurry after that. He shook his head. "The general was trying to convince me to get up, but I was determined to try and help him escape. He wouldn't budge and then… I think I passed out." His face went from confused to horrified in a split second. "Where's the General?"

Rex pushed the struggling Cody back onto his back. "Relax, he's fine. He went with General Skywalker to check in with General Windu."

Slowly, Cody laid back down and closed his eyes. "Thank goodness… Why does he have to be so stubborn?"

"Was it easier to deal with him when he used you as a pillow?"

Cody groaned and looked at his now smiling brother. "Rex, he did not-" he stopped, knowing it wouldn't help the situation.

Rex's grin faded slightly, "Seriously Cody, I have never been so terrified of General Kenobi when he came back with you slung over his shoulder. I was watching from the distance when you were shot down. I was going to go back before General Skywalker stopped me. The two of us watched through some binoculars as the General fended off the clankers, slung you up onto his back, and ran through enemy lines. A tank was right behind you at one point, but General Kenobi pushed it back. It. Was. _Terrifying._ I have never seen a Jedi move that fast..."

Cody frowned slightly at the image in his mind. He resisted the urge to groan aloud at his General's stubbornness. "Well, Rex, you should probably check in with your General before Kix has a fit and kicks you out."

The captain glanced behind him, obviously looking for the medic. "Yeah, I probably should. He was threatening me with a sedate earlier if I even tried to touch you…" Rex shuddered. "I swear, Kix's the scariest when he's in 'medic mode'."

Cody laughed softly before stopping abruptly as his shoulder throbbed. It wasn't a good idea to move at all right now...

Rex shot his older brother a sympathetic look before standing. "Get better soon, Pillow. Your General's probably going to need you to have a good shoulder so he can fall asleep on it."

Cody glared at the captain as he cheekily waved goodbye and grinned knowingly before leaving the tent.

He winced again as he shifted, trying to get comfortable on the cot.

Kix popped up out of nowhere and scowling, said, "Commander, if you don't lie still your shoulder will never get better! Don't make me sedate you!" the medic brandished a needle threateningly.

Cody resisted the urge to sigh. He almost wished Rex would come back and save him from the medic…

The commander silently endured Kix's check over and was just slipping into a doze when a familiar voice startled him awake.

"I don't care if he's resting, I want to see him!"

Cody nearly groaned with frustration. His general was fighting with Kix, obviously wanting to see if he was alright. Honestly, that man was too stubborn for his own good sometimes…

He could hear Kix reply back, equally stubborn. "General, if you want your commander to make a full recovery quickly, I must insist you let him get his rest."

The Jedi obviously didn't like this answer, because Cody could hear the tiniest bit of frustration creep into his voice. "I just want to see if he is alright! I'll let him rest, I promise."

There was a beat of silence. Kix sighed. "Alright. Five minutes, sir. But only five!"

General Kenobi probably didn't hear this or simply ignored the medic because suddenly he was next to Cody, the permission all he needed to slip past Kix.

"Cody." The Jedi sounded relieved when he caught sight of his commander and the clone saw the man's grey eyes sweep over him, looking for any signs of discomfort. Obi-Wan seemed satisfied with what he saw, at least for the moment, because he nodded slightly, eyes beginning to slowly turn slightly more green. He untensed and finally relaxed enough to sit down next to Cody, in the same place Rex had sat when the clone woke up.

The clone commander watched his general carefully, looking for any signs of injury on the Jedi too. He hadn't seen any signs of discomfort yet, but you never could know with a Jedi.

Rex had told him once that General Skywalker had collapsed six hours after a battle, only then revealing he was seriously injured.

He was brought back to the present as the Jedi calmly, yet a little worriedly, asked, "How is your shoulder?"

He shrugged slightly, careful not to move his injured shoulder. "I've had worse."

Obi-Wan nodded, yet didn't look too convinced. "Did Kix give you any meds for the pain?"

Cody blinked, slightly surprised that his general knew the medic's name. Kix was assigned to the 501st, and hadn't really been in contact much with Obi-Wan. He nodded nevertheless, resolving to ask his general about that on a later date.

"Good." The Jedi said, grey green eyes calmed at the knowledge of that. It was silent for a beat before Obi-Wan smiled gently and said, "You have questions."

It wasn't a question, nor an invitation. Cody blinked again. Sometimes he forgot how perceptive the Jedi could be.

He simply nodded, not wanting to say too much.

The Jedi's smile widened a fraction. "What would you like to know, Commander?" he asked.

This was an invitation, so Cody began to talk. "Sir, back at the battle, you said something about how you could feel each of us clones through the...Force."

Obi-Wan nodded encouragingly.

The clone continued. "What...what did you mean by that, General?"

The Jedi sighed lightly, but still held his gentle smile. "I had a feeling you might ask that, Cody."

The commander didn't say anything, waiting for Obi-Wan to collect his thoughts. "What do you know about the Force?" The general asked.

Cody wasn't expecting that question, nevertheless he did his best to try to answer it. "I know that the Jedi use it and that it is what makes a Jedi a...Jedi." He stopped to think for a second. "I know that it can move things invisibly and that it is not seen or heard." Obi-Wan's eyes twinkled with some amusement at those words, but he kept silent.

Cody thought again. "I know that it is a power very much unknown to us clones and that we can never really understand what it is…" He paused again. "That's all I can think of, sir."

The Jedi nodded. "Very good. That was more than most people can remember."

Cody stayed silent, not sure exactly what his general meant. Obi-Wan merely smiled again and said, "You were correct about all those things. The Force is indeed a mysterious power to most people and it is what makes a Jedi. It is invisible to most, but the Jedi are able to see and hear it through our training and discipline."

The clone wasn't sure how that worked, but he nodded anyways. His general got that amused look in his eyes again before he continued. "The Force is manifested in every living thing. It does not matter whether you are a Jedi or not. Those who are more in tune with it are those who are trained and raised as Jedi."

"Each living, organic thing has its own Force signature, its footprint if you will. That means that the Force 'footprint' or mark in a plant is different from that of a tooka or a person."

Cody furrowed his brows. "Then how can you tell my brothers and I apart from each other if we have the same...mark?"

His general grinned. "Ah, now you are getting to the interesting part. Even if a tooka looks the same as another tooka, they _feel_ different. Each has their own...personality, of sorts."

Cody was starting to see where this was going, but he kept silent.

"This is the same for the soldiers. You, for instance, are always thinking outside of the box, ready for any sort of combat that may come your way. You like rules, and like to have structure in everything. You are also fiercely protective of those men under your command, loyal, and stubborn."

"Waxer, however, is different, though you two look the same. He is more care free, content to follow orders when he feels like it or when it is important. He likes to make others laugh, and is always thinking of new pranks to do so. He is more outwardly affectionate, liking to show that through touch and words."

Cody nodded, suddenly seeing why his general had reacted vehemently towards him when he expressed that he wasn't important. To the Jedi, each of his brothers were unique and there was only one of each of them.

Obi-Wan looked at the clone as he finished. "Do you see now, Cody?"

The commander nodded again. "Yes sir." The Jedi smiled contently. "Good." Just at that moment, Kix appeared and, frowning, said, "Sir, it's been well over 5 minutes." He narrowed his eyes to express his displeasure, and Obi-Wan stood up, obviously not wanting to cross swords again with the medic.

"I'm leaving, Kix. Don't worry." The medic nodded and walked off to help another annoyed medic.

Kix's voice could be heard yelling something to another patient who was evidently trying to escape. "Bozer, you better not be trying to leave again!"

Cody laughed softly, imagining another poor clone at the mercy of him. Obi-Wan chuckled, shaking his head amusedly, before turning back to the commander.

"Get well soon, Cody. I can't have the men getting out of control without their commander, now can I?"

"No sir. I'll make sure to give Waxer a whack upside the head when I see him next."

Obi-Wan chuckled again, before turning to leave after saying quietly, "May the Force be with you."

Cody smiled, and shook his head, slightly exasperated. He would never understand Jedi...especially his general. That man was nothing like any of the other Jedi the clone had ever met. He was glad, though. Obi-Wan Kenobi was a puzzle, but Cody did know one thing- he cared about his men.


	5. Revelation of a Name (Part 1)

Cody knew that all good things eventually came to an end, but he hadn't expected his general being oblivious to his nickname to end so soon!

He blamed Waxer. If his younger brother hadn't been on a teasing streak, General Kenobi would never had found out.

Well, eventually someone would have mentioned it, but Cody was betting on his 'commander glare of doom' on keeping his brothers quiet for longer. _Much_ longer. Of course, Waxer had to decide that it was an opportune time to prank him with something that would raise questions from his general.

The younger clone had filled his room on _The Negotiator_ with pillows.

Waist deep with pillows.

Fluffy, pure white, _annoying_ pillows.

Of course, Rex couldn't stop laughing at the sight (Why did Cody have to have been talking to him on a communicator at the time?), and around the corner the commander could hear Boil yelling at Waxer. Something about being an immature idiot.

And then there was General Kenobi. He had come walking up to Cody with a concerned look on his face and stopped, dead in his tracks, as he caught sight of the commander's room. The Jedi stared inside the room, very, very confused. After a moment, he picked up the folded piece of paper on top of the sea and read aloud, " _For the original Pillow. Have a wonderful sleep tonight!"_

Rex had to sign off at this point because he was laughing too hard. He was practically screaming with laughter and could barely breath, at which General Kenobi looked very concerned.

"Cody…" the Jedi started to say, rather faintly, then paused for a moment. "Do I really want to know?"

Cody buried his face in his hands and made a mental note to kill Waxer later. "Perhaps, sir. But I certainly don't want you to know." He should have known better. This immediately raised Obi-Wan's curiosity, and the clone had learned very quickly that his general wouldn't let something go if he was curious.

"Why _do_ you have pillows covering your room, Cody? And what does this note mean, ' _for the original Pillow_ '?"

Cody really hoped Boil was lecturing Waxer right now. He _really_ hoped that it was a very long, very boring lecture that was being given while Waxer was forced to do push-ups for the entire time.

Unfortunately, Waxer wasn't being mercilessly tortured at the moment. He came bouncing around the corner, a huge grin full force on his face. Cody spotted Boil frantically motioning for the clone to get back, all the while glaring angrily at the back of Waxer's head. The younger clone merely grinned back at him before stopping right in front of the Jedi and commander.

Cody wanted to disappear.

He really hoped that a Separatist ship would appear out of hyperspace and that there would be a impromptu battle. He really hoped anything would happen. He didn't care if he suddenly collapsed or died or _something_ , he just wanted out of this situation. The commander screwed his eyes shut and buried his head in his hands, not able to take it anymore.

Waxer was probably going to draw this out for as long as he could without getting murdered by his commander or Boil. In fact, peeking out at the clone, maniac grin firmly in place on his face, Cody had no doubt he was doing exactly that.

Kenobi seemed to sense something was up because he turned his attention to Waxer, eyebrows raised, "Waxer… did you do this?"

He grinned. "... I had a little help, General."

"Why on earth would you fill Cody's room with pillows?"

Cody wanted to slap his brother for the next sentence, but he knew it wouldn't take back the words said. He couldn't seem to move from the sheer terror anyways.

"Well… I thought Commander Pillow would enjoy his own pillow for a change."

Boil finally took pity on Cody and came running over. He then proceeded to drag away a giggling Waxer, apologizing profusely over his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I won't let him bother you again, sirs." Both clones disappeared around the corner again, and Cody could faintly hear Boil screaming at Waxer as they dashed away. "Are you dense? Do you want yourself _killed_?"

"Commander what?" General Kenobi turned towards his commander, very confused.

"Pillow, sir." Cody managed to mumble out.

"Pillow."

"Yes, sir."

"... I'm confused."

"Cody… it means pillow."

"What?"

"The name Cody means pillow."

The Jedi was silent for a beat, then said, "Oh." Obi-Wan was stone faced. Too stone faced.

Cody buried his face in his hands again. "Go ahead and laugh, sir."

"Why would I laugh?" The Jedi still wasn't smiling, but Cody could see the amused twinkle in his eyes.

"General, just laugh. You not laughing makes it worse."

His general still didn't laugh, but the amused twinkle left his eyes. "I'm sorry, Cody. It isn't funny. I was just… surprised."

Cody blinked, slightly confused and surprised. Why was the Jedi acting like this? Every other person who found out about his nickname had laughed until they cried at him. "Sir?" He asked, still confused when Obi-Wan didn't offer any clarification.

The Jedi took a breath, looking like he was trying to calm himself, before softly saying, "I had a nickname when I was younger."

That got Cody's attention. He waited until his general gathered his thoughts before asking hesitantly, "Do you mind telling me about it...sir?" The Jedi shook his head and gave a small smile. "Not at all, Commander."

Cody was relieved the man didn't get defensive or refuse to talk to him. Usually when someone had a memory they particularly didn't like, they wouldn't talk to someone about it. Obi-Wan had looked like it wasn't a memory he would like to revisit.

The Jedi took another breath. "Before a Jedi youngling begins training under a Master as a Padawan, they are called initiatives. They have classes preparing them for being chosen as a Padawan, share quarters with initiatives their age, and train in 'saber fighting together."

Cody didn't understand all the Jedi terminology, but he believed he got the jest of the story. It was just like his brothers and him training together before they were deployed into service.

"I was always top in my classes, no matter my age. Regardless of my abilities, no Master even glanced my way until I was nearly too old to become a Padawan. I had always been very conscious of this, and it was a blow to my self-esteem whenever I saw others being chosen."

The clone couldn't imagine his general having a low self-esteem. He wasn't like his former apprentice, having a very large ego, but he knew his place and where he belonged. At least, that's how it seemed to Cody. Now he wasn't so sure, having been told by the Jedi himself he had struggled with feelings of worth when his was younger.

Obi-Wan paused, before softly continuing. "There was another initiative my age named Bruck Chen who liked to make fun of the younger initiatives. One day I told him to stop, and I immediately became his main target for bullying after that."

"Although I was well trained and taught in 'saber fighting, I was extremely clumsy outside of the gym. I constantly was knocking into people, tripping over my own feet, and running into walls." Cody instantly had a image of a smaller, younger Obi-Wan stumbling around and had to smother his smile. It was a rather cute thought.

"Bruck teased me for being clumsy and called me 'Oafy-Wan' whenever the teachers weren't looking or listening. My friends did their best to reassure me that he would stop soon, but the teasing continued until several years after I was chosen to be a Padawan."

Cody sensed there was more to the story, but he didn't say anything, taking notice of the sad glint in his general's eyes. Something had happened to Bruck, he was sure, but he didn't want to step outside of his bounds.

He waited until the general pulled himself from his thoughts. The Jedi gave the commander a small smile again. The amused look came back into his eyes, and Cody knew exactly what Obi-Wan was going to say next.

"Now, Commander, mind explaining to me why in the world you got named 'Pillow'?"

The clone knew it was pointless to resist, and the Jedi had told him his nickname and the story with it, so Cody bit the bullet.

"After the Battle of Geonosis, some of the wounded clones were brought back to Kamino. I wasn't fully trained yet, so I was still there with the other younger clones. My squad went to go see our brothers coming back from the battle."

Cody braced himself mentally for the next part of the story. His mind was screaming at him to stop talking, but the training to always respond to a superior's question forced him to keep talking.

"Since we were already there and doing nothing, the medics had us help the wounded soldiers into the medical bay. While we were doing that, another ship landed and the medics started trying to help a Jedi."

Obi-Wan blinked, clearly not expecting the turn of events, but he kept his silence and calm mask. Cody continued after a breath.

"He was injured, but refused to get attention from the medics. He walked off down the halls somewhere, and I followed, thinking that maybe he should be brought back to the medics. I was right, but I couldn't really do anything because the moment I found him, he said a couple words then passed out, and fell on top of me when I tried to catch him."

"Two medics and two of my squadmates walked in, and since the Jedi had his head on my back, it looked like I was being a pillow for him. That's why I'm called Pillow, sir." Cody finished, with a mental sigh. It was over, and he still hasn't revealed who the Jedi was. He hoped he could keep it that way.

Obi-Wan nodded, looking thoughtful. "I see." The clone could see him working thinking through the story, digesting it. A slightly mischievous spark glowed in his eyes, and the man asked, with a hint of amusement in his voice, "Who was the Jedi?"

Cody should have known.

The man was curious and that overrode his cautiousness. The commander could see that Obi-Wan could and would use this as material for teasing the Jedi who had passed out on Cody. But how do you tell your superior that he was the Jedi who had passed out on you in the story you just told him?

Cody sighed. You just tell him. "Well, sir. The Jedi in question is someone you know very well, but I don't think you will be wanting to bring it up anytime soon."

"And why is that, Commander?" Obi-Wan's eyes were still twinkling with mischief and Cody had to remind himself that his General was General Skywalker's former master.

"Because _you_ were the Jedi."

Obi-Wan's face went from amused to shocked in a split second. Around the corner, two clones who were most definitely not supposed to be there listening, froze at this new information. One grinned, while the other glanced worriedly at him.

Boil wasn't about to stand idly by while his younger brother did something stupid, but Waxer was already planning a new prank. The only people who knew the identity of the 'Pillow Jedi' had been Cody, Rex, Kix, and Wolfe. Waxer wasn't about to _not_ exploit this new information.

General Kenobi stared at Cody, then very slowly asked, "...What?"

"You were the Jedi, sir." Cody wanted to sink into the floor and vanish.

A very small, "Oh…" was heard. "I don't remember this…"

"Well," Cody scratched the back of his head, "You were a little… unconscious at the time."

Obi-Wan nodded slowly, "Very true…"

Silence fell for several minutes, and with each passing second Cody wanted to scream. He buried his face in his hands and for once wanted to thank Waxer for the pillows… he could hide from this embarrassment.

"Anakin must never find out about this."

Cody's head snapped up to see a very determined Jedi.

Obi-Wan looked at the pile of pillows, "I mean it, Cody. If he finds out about this, I will never hear the end of it."

"I'll do my best to keep it down sir, but it's Waxer you need to worry about." Cody felt a giant weight lifted off his shoulders as he realized his General wasn't angry about the story. Then he mentally berated himself for ever thinking such a thing- he was a Jedi! Jedi do not judge people's names, but where their hearts lie.

For the next hour, Obi-Wan helped Cody clean out the pillows from the commander's quarters, each planning out in their minds how to keep Waxer's mouth successfully shut.


	6. Return of the Pillow Jedi

**Sorry it has taken so long to update. I just keep forgetting. I really should just post the entire story online...**

It had been a long battle, and the general was exhausted. Cody didn't think it was a problem standing next to him on the gunship. Until the Jedi had conveniently fallen asleep… on his shoulder.

The clone had to wonder how he got into these situations time and time again. It didn't help that Waxer and Boil were standing across from them, trying to contain their laughter. The other brothers very quickly discovered the plight of their commander and the whole gunship was soon filled with smothered giggles and conspiring whispers.

Cody could only wish the Jedi wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

Another thought unpleasantly presented itself in his mind and he had to force himself not to jolt in horror and risk waking the Jedi. _Waxer is going to have a hayday… Please don't let General Skywalker call right now…_

Luckily for Cody, the Jedi had already called one another before they took flight so neither clone or Jedi were in any danger of relentless teasing. At least from the younger Jedi. The 212th...that was another story...

When the gunship landed on _The Negotiator,_ all the clones filed off… or at least all but Cody, who was stuck. And of course Waxer and Boil stayed behind to offer their 'assistance' to their commander. The older clone knew better, but he let them stay. He couldn't tell them off like he wanted to because of a sleeping Jedi.

Eventually, with Boil's help (Waxer just stood there grinning), the two clones managed to move the General to a sitting position, leaning him against the back wall of the gunship. He was still using Cody as a pillow and Cody sat down right next to the general. The commander then ordered the two outside to make sure no one disturbed the Jedi. Waxer left with Boil's… persuasion (he held a blaster to his side and shoved him out of the ship before shutting the door).

That left Cody to try and get comfortable… again. Most people count sheep when they fall asleep. He counted how many times he had been used as a pillow.

One, the first time Obi-Wan fell asleep on his back. Two, that strange time Rex ate one too many melilooruns and basically crashing on Cody's shoulder. Three, one of the first times out in the field when everyone was sleeping on the ground and a few shines couldn't get comfortable, so Cody volunteered to help (two used his back while two were on his legs). Four, the time a clone who had recently lost a brother he had known since training was suffering nightmares and couldn't sleep.

After that incident, Cody unofficially signed up for something the 212th called, 'Pillow Duty'. Whenever one of them needed help sleeping, (sometimes asking a brother to do it for them) they would approach Cody and ask if they could 'have the Pillow tonight'. The first time it happened, Cody felt very awkward about it, as did the trooper in question, but slowly it spread around and Cody found that he enjoyed comforting his brothers via 'pillow'.

Cody wasn't sure what that said about him.

He continued counting. The practice certainly did its job. He fell asleep after getting to 36, leaning against the wall and slightly slipping down to lean against his general. Cody slept so deeply that he didn't even here a click of a holocamera and muffled laughing 30 minutes or so after he fell asleep.

The next morning, Cody groggily woke up and wondered why he was sitting on the hard ground instead of a sleeping pad. He shifted slightly and felt something to his right. Memories of the previous mission came flooding back and he groaned slightly.

General Kenobi mumbled something and shifted his body. As gently as possible Cody shook the Jedi, "General… General, wake up."

"...mmm… five more minutes, Qui-Gon…"

Cody raised an eyebrow at the name, not recognizing it. He made a mental note to ask around about it later. "General Kenobi… General…." the Commander shook the Jedi again, "Obi-Wan!"

The Jedi jolted awake and looked around, as if expecting a giant creature to jump out and kill him. As he saw no danger, the General calmed down and began to take in the situation. When his gaze finally found Cody, he relaxed slightly, but still looked confused. "Commander… What are we doing in a gunship?"

"You fell asleep, sir. We didn't want to wake you."

"That's very thoughtful, but-" he stopped talking suddenly. Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed slightly before finally saying, "I don't need a guard, Cody, and you know that. So why are we…?" The commander honestly wasn't surprised the man knew about Boil and Waxer standing guard. He was a Jedi, afterall.

"You may have… fell asleep standing next to me… and you may have… used my shoulder as a pillow."

The Jedi's eyes widened a fraction. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Cody shook his head, interrupting the man's words. "No, it's fine, General. Everyone does it, and, to be honest, I'm used to it now." He wasn't going to mention that he actually enjoyed being a 'pillow'. It was comforting to know that his brothers trusted him and physical contact was something he felt he needed. It could get lonely sometimes being a clone, one of a million men who were trained for combat and nothing else. Cody pulled himself from his thoughts and focused back on the Jedi.

Obi-Wan looked skeptical. "Are you sure?"

The commander nodded. "Yes sir."

The ginger glanced towards the gunship door and, standing and helping the clone to his feet, he gestured towards it. "Shall we go?"

Cody simply saluted and responded with a "Yes, sir!", at which the Jedi gave the clone a stern look.

"Obi-Wan, Cody. We're still off duty." Cody didn't respond. It would still be inappropriate to call the general anything other than his rank or sir, off duty or not.

The two walked out of the gunship together and quickly made their way through the hanger activity without an incident, the clone realized gratefully. He wasn't in the mood for the ribbing and teasing from his brothers today, much less in front of the Jedi general. Cody hoped this silence would continue throughout the day.

Just before he and Obi-Wan got to a hall leading out from the hanger to briefing rooms and tactic room, Cody spotted a certain clone grinning at him. He immediately recognized Waxer, who was holding something in his hand, waving it teasingly. Squinting his eyes, Cody caught sight of what the younger clone was holding. It was a holo. A holo depicting the general and him leaning against each other, sound asleep, in the gunship no doubt.

Oh, he was _definitely_ putting Waxer on cleanup duty for a _week_.

Cody told his treacherous brother so with his eyes, glaring doom and gloom for him in the near future. The commander turned back to the hall, and caught up with his general, hoping that Obi-Wan hadn't minded his brief absence.

Back in the hanger, Boil warily approached Waxer, keeping an eye out for their commander. "He gone?" He asked under his breath.

Waxer turned towards his older brother, grin full force. "Yep."

Boil shook his head at his crazy brother. "Did Cody see the holo?"

"Oh, you bet he did."

"Well? What'd he do?"

Waxer's grin grew larger, if possible. "He gave me his 'commander glare of doom'."

Boil wasn't sure who was more scarier- Cody when he was angry, or Waxer when he had a 'great' idea. He would have to go with Waxer this time. That clone would get himself into big trouble one day…

"You're _happy_ about this?" Boil asked, incredulous.

"Oh yeah. I've got Codes right where I want him."

Waxer practically skipped off, holo firmly grasped in his hand. Boil was left to follow, hoping that Cody wouldn't maim their brother _too much_ …

Afterall, Waxer couldn't do much damage...right?

* * *

He had been wrong.

So very wrong.

Apparently Waxer had another one of his 'fantastic' ideas and decided to enlarge the holo and post on a wall in the barracks. Cody's barracks. With 40 other men from the 212th.

The clone commander had walked in, spotted the holo, and immediately thrown it in the trash and stalked out. Boil had the feeling that he was looking for Waxer, and wisely followed to ensure his younger brother wouldn't be killed by the hand of the commander.

Boil was sure that Cody was about to explode. The commander was completely red faced and couldn't even sputter out a coherent word. The only other time Boil had seen his older brother _this_ mad was...well, never. That was a frightening thought.

Waxer didn't look to concerned. He was simply smiling calmly, paying no heed to the commander's poor attempts at saying something. "I can't even...you...don't even think…" Cody stammered, finally giving up and pointing rigidly towards the direction of the mess. "Cleanup. For a week." Waxer still retained his smile as he walked towards the room. Right before he walked around the corner, he said, "So, Commander, did you enjoy being a pillow for Kenobi again?"

Boil had to bodily hold back Cody as he launched himself at the cheeky clone and yelled, "WAXER!" The clone in question bolted, giggling all the way. The general, of course, chose this opportune time to appear from around the opposite corner, looking slightly confused and marginally shocked at the scene. Neither the clones or Jedi said a word. Finally, Obi-Wan turned and simply walked away. He probably thought it was best not to ask, and Boil couldn't help but agree looking at Cody's face.

The commander went slightly limp under Boil's grasp and he groaned audibly. "Great. Now the general thinks I'm crazy. He's probably going to comm the Admirals and ask for me to be reassigned."

The other clone let go of Cody. "C'mon, it's not too bad. I don't think you'll be reassigned. General Kenobi likes you already." The commander's head snapped up. "What makes you say that, Boil? You can't tell. The man's a Jedi! You can never tell with them!"

Boil patted Cody's shoulder reassuringly as the older clone dropped his head into his hands again. The clone hummed absently, thinking of what he could say to reassure his commander. "Well, for one thing, he hasn't gotten mad over the whole 'pillow Jedi' nickname. He actually seems ok with it, after getting past the shock factor."

Cody nodded slightly. "I guess you're right. He didn't reassign me for _that._ " Boil grinned. "And why would he? General Kenobi's already settled in to having the 212th. I may not know him very well yet, but he doesn't seem like the person who gets upset over small things like a nickname."

The commander took a breath and nodded again. "Ok. You're right." Cody straightened up, calm again. He smiled. "Thanks vod." Boil returned the smile. "Anytime, Codes."


	7. Revelation of a Name (Part 2)

**Well, I guess I just need to accept that I am terrible at updating. Cue two new chapters!**

It was a little less than a year since the war began before General Skywalker and Commander Tano found out about the whole…'pillow' incident and nickname.

It had, of course, been one of the brothers in the 212th who had made an offhand comment while General Skywalker and Commander Tano were at a briefing with Cody and Obi-Wan.

Trapper had hesitantly approached his general and commander, not wanting to disturb them, but needing to ask Cody a time constraining question. He was encouraged by Obi-Wan's glance and small smile acknowledging his presence and clearly not minding it. Trapper took a breath.

"Commander, can I use the pillow tonight?"

Cody nodded absently to a brother's question, before turning back to the briefing, thinking nothing of it.

"What?"

Obi-Wan and Cody blinked at the younger Jedi over the holo projection of battle plans at the sudden question. The general recovered quickly. "Anakin?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. The man narrowed his blue eyes and said, gesturing towards Trapper. "He said something about...using a pillow? What was that all about?"

Cody saw the other clone freeze, and glance worriedly back at the general and him. The commander simply sighed and nodded that it was ok for Trapper to keep leaving and that he would take care of it. The clone practically dashed away, eager to get out of the situation.

Meanwhile, Cody wanted to shrink and disappear… again. But he braced himself for the oncoming conversation. "…General Skywalker, my name means 'Pillow'. The trooper wants to talk to me."

Kenobi gave a slight nod to the Commander before pointing back at the briefing, "Alright, Anakin I need you to-"

"Hold on! Pillow?" Anakin stared at Cody in surprise and shock. At his side, Ahsoka had an expression of curiosity, but decided to remain silent for the time being.

General Skywalker turned to his Captain, "Did you know about this?"

Rex glanced in Cody's direction with a look that clearly said, 'Sorry!' and turned back to his General, "Yes, sir. Most clones know. Ask anyone."

"Oh…" Anakin looked a little less curious. Cody started to think he dodged a bullet, but then the Jedi asked another question. "How in the galaxy did you get a name like that?"

Kenobi and Cody looked at each other, and if it hadn't been for the last year of fighting together, Cody wouldn't have been able to see how horrified Obi-Wan was at the question.

The commander tried to keep his face straight and not look at his general, "No special way, sir. Someone used me as a pillow after a battle and the name stuck." Cody turned back to the table, "Now, I think we should attack along the southern flank…"

Rex hurriedly jumped on the new subject, "I agree with Commander Cody, Generals. And an air strike in the northern sector as a diversion would be excellent to provide cover…"

Thus the subject was avoided… for approximately two days. During those two days, Anakin literally searched everywhere for the full story. He did find out that it was a Jedi who passed out on the commander, but every time he pressed for more, each clone would politely (and a little nervously) point him in Cody's direction.

Day three: Anakin finally talked to Cody. The commander admitted that it was a Jedi, but refused to give the identity. If he really wanted to know, then, "You'll need to see General Kenobi. He knows the story."

The next week Anakin was 'stalking' his Master in order to get answers. Ahsoka trailed her Master, very confused and a little amused at Obi-Wan's attempts to avoid his former Padawan. Her master, on the other hand, was extremely annoyed with the older Jedi.

"Why doesn't he just tell me?" Anakin fumed, heatedly pacing after being told be an irked Jedi Master to go bother someone else.

Ahsoka smiled, "Master, you are not exactly the type to keep a secret. And Master Kenobi probably does not want you to tease the Jedi."

Anakin wondered when his Padawan got so smart… He then started to follow his Master again.

It wasn't until Anakin finally interrupted Obi-Wan so many times, that the Jedi Master couldn't meditate, did Obi-Wan relent.

The next time Cody saw General Skywalker, he had the maniac grin Cody had first seen on the General… and he knew that grin was dangerous.

General Kenobi was watching his former Padawan, a deep sense of regret filling his heart. "I told him."

"Told him what, sir?"

"Who the Pillow Jedi was."

Cody cursed. "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

 **Please leave a comment on how you are liking all of these little stories so far- because it is about to get a little less fluffy and a little more angsty.**


	8. Knowledge from Naboo

**Just in case you missed it, I updated with two chapters today. So make sure you read both and hope you enjoy!**

 _Knowledge from Naboo_

The 212th battalion didn't get leave often, but when they did, it was a huge event.

Every brother was on Naboo to celebrate the liberation of the planet with the 501st and their Generals (and by celebrate, it also meant guard duty on the planet, but honestly no one really saw it that way). Accompanying them was Commander Tano. The troops were very excited and eager to take a break from the stress of the war.

Cody was watching to make sure none of his brothers did something incredibly stupid. Waxer and Boil were near the top of his list, with two squads of shinies right behind them.

In fact, he was so busy keeping an eye on his brothers, he almost forgot about one.

About a couple hours into the main celebration, Cody noticed that he hadn't seen his general in a while. Glancing around at the crowds, the clone realized that he couldn't spot the ginger head anywhere.

Kriff.

Cody started towards Rex, but was cut off by a small crowd of Naboo citizens celebrating and dancing around. By the time they passed, Rex was out of sight.

Guess he was on his own. He really hoped he wouldn't find the General as a puppy again. That was a weird day…

He looked around again, and, seeing nothing, started scouting around the outskirts of the gathering. The clone moved towards the palace after spotting movement near the lower part of the building.

As he neared the area, he saw a flash of copper out of the corner of his eye and dashed in the direction. Soon, he was weaving through halls and passages, trying to keep that tiny color in his sights. Eventually, he lost it and was hopelessly lost in the giant castle.

He wandered about, attempting to find his General or a way out- whichever came first. He'd prefer his lost General… but thought it may be a good idea to first get himself found.

Cody found himself walking along some narrow walkways, with a long drop beneath him. He wondered what the purpose of the room was and why anyone would want to be here.

How strange it was to him that the one place he never would have thought to look was the very place his General was.

Obi-Wan was standing down a hallway, which Cody found to be ray-shielded, staring down a large hole of nothingness. Carefully, the Commander navigated his way down the perilous hall until he was right behind his General. He walked up beside the man and peered down into the hole. Obi-Wan didn't acknowledge the clone, but Cody had a suspicion he knew he was there.

Silence fell for a moment, before Cody spoke, "Long way down, General. Wouldn't want you to fall."

Obi-Wan gave a grim smile. "Not long enough, apparently."

The response puzzled the clone- more than usual. He tried to understand the General's words, but came up with a blank and finally asked, "Sir?"

"Sorry, Cody," Obi-Wan shook his head and stepped away from the fall. "Just reliving the past. This place-" he gestured around the room, "does not have the best memories."

Cody remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Do you want to talk about it, Sir?"

The Jedi shook his head and motioned for the clone to follow him.

Cody took two steps before a sudden urge to ask his General a question that seemed to just spring from a random thought, long buried. He tried to shake it off, but found the urge impossible to ignore. He frowned slightly and finally gave up, "Sir?"

"Yes, Cody?"

"Who is Qui-Gon?"

Obi-Wan froze in place, standing up straight and stiff. Cody suspected the man had paled slightly and was probably too shocked to respond.

After a few minutes, Cody was afraid he had offended his General in some way. He walked forward a few steps, "Sir? Are you alright?"

"Where-" Obi-Wan stopped and breathed in sharply, "Where did you hear that name?"

Cody hesitated for a moment before answering, "... You talk in your sleep."

General Kenobi turned around and stared at his commander, his eyes gray. "Oh," was his only reply. Silence fell again.

Cody was now determined he had said something wrong and hurried to give an apology, but Obi-Wan waved it aside, "It's fine, Cody. I was just… surprised. Qui-Gon Jinn was my Master, just as I was Anakin's Master."

Now Cody understood why his general had called him that a few times when the man was very sleep deprived. The clone had come to see that a master and padawan were often the closest relationship a Jedi could have- often like a mother or father with their child. But Cody also felt as if there was something in the way Obi-Wan said his name. A sorrow that was buried deep inside. He decided it would be best to move on quickly before he said something he'd regret. "Oh. Well, thank you for telling me. I was just curious."

General Kenobi smiled and glanced around the small room again. "Funny how you asked that question here."

"Why is that, sir?"

Obi-Wan looked him in the eyes, his gaze steady and his eyes a deep gray, "Because he died where you're standing."

The clone felt like slapping himself. What did he just say in his head? _Move on before you say the wrong thing!_

Why did this happen to him? _Why?_ Cody felt like jumping into the conveniently placed hole and dying because he was getting sick of his luck. The clone attempted to stutter out an apology, but found his throat unable to speak and his feet were frozen in place, even as he wanted to run away.

The Jedi must have sensed Cody's horror because he quickly reassured him, "You're fine, Cody, you didn't know."

"I- I- Uh…" Cody felt like blasting himself at the moment. Kriff, he was an idiot. Why did he have to ask that question now? His mind went blank and he asked the first question that popped into his head, "How did he die?"

The clone really wanted to jump into the black hole now.

Obi-Wan gave a grim smile, "Darth Maul." His face went blank for a moment, and Cody had the feeling that his general was holding in some stirring emotions. Then the moment passed and he was back to his sad smile, "He was a good friend, and a wonderful Master. I think you would have liked him Cody. Although he did do things a little… off-book. He was one to follow the Force and his feelings, not the Order's decisions or rules." Obi-Wan chuckled, "But there was a few times he rebelled against the will of the Force. I know of one in particular."

Cody relaxed slightly. His general didn't seem to be angry at Cody for asking, in fact he seemed to be ok with the conversation. "What did he do? If you don't mind me asking, sir."

"Well…" Obi-Wan motioned for his commander to follow him and Cody quickly followed the man out of the room. He didn't want to be there any longer than necessary. "He tried to convince himself I was not to be his padawan."

"What?" Cody couldn't imagine any Jedi not wanting his General as an apprentice. He had come to know that the Jedi was extremely skilled, able to easily take out a whole battalion of droids if his men let him. They didn't, but that did not stop the copper haired man from standing on the frontlines with no cover. The commander also knew that Obi-Wan was very compassionate and the model Jedi in many people's eyes. To even consider another Jedi would not accept him was...inconceivable.

Obi-Wan smiled, seemingly reading into his commander's surprise and knowing what he was thinking. "I know, Cody, I know. But it's very true."

The two finally made it out of the ray-shielded hall and were now watching their steps in the huge room of walkways.

"A Jedi must be accepted as a padawan by the age of 13, or they will be assigned to the Agricorps- which is basically a Jedi farmer." Obi-Wan looked a little saddened at the thought then continued. "I was almost 13 when Qui-Gon refused to be my master- and was actually sent to the Agricorps."

"Why did he refuse? If you don't mind me asking, sir." Cody was still troubled by the thought of his general not being good enough.

"Well… without going into too much detail, my Master had a bad background with his previous padawans. One died and another… did not choose the correct path to follow. Master Jinn was convinced that both incidents were his fault and refused to take another student, in fear of destroying them." Obi-Wan chuckled slightly, "Unfortunately for him, The Force had other things in mind. Without telling the entire story, a series of problems and incidents lead Qui-Gon to finally accepting that I was meant to be his padawan."

The clone accepted the story without any more questions. He had a suspicion that the actual events were much more difficult and painful for both Jedi and didn't want to press. "Did you enjoy your apprenticeship to… General Jinn?"

"He was never a general, Cody."

"Sorry, sir. But I don't know what else to call him."

Obi-Wan smiled, "Understood. Yes, I did quite enjoy my time with Master Jinn. He was very kind and one of the best Jedi in the Order. He was the reason Anakin became a Jedi. In fact, he was supposed to train him before…" the Jedi trailed off, a sad smile appearing.

The commander nodded in understanding and put a comforting hand on his General's shoulder. "He'd be proud of the Jedi you've become, sir."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "And why would you say that, Cody?"

"Because, if he was half the Jedi you are, then he was a wonderful man and teacher. You're one of the best Jedi in our army and in the Order and I'm honored to have you as my General."

The Jedi looked away for a moment, trying to hide the tears in his eyes. After several seconds and pulling himself together, Obi-Wan finally managed to mumble, "Thank you, Cody."

"Anytime… brother."

Watching from the side, a force ghost smiled. Cody had done well, even without a large connection to the Force. As the two walked away, Qui-Gon chuckled to himself. His Padawan was in good hands.

 **Leave any comments or concerns! May the Force be with you!**

 **ALMOST FORGOT: I wanted to surprise my Padawan with something and... well, THIS happened:**

 _Random humorous really short AU right after Qui-Gon dies:_

Obi-Wan is sitting next to the hole on Naboo where Qui-Gon died. He stares down into it before sighing sadly.

Suddenly, Ghost Qui-Gon pops up and yells, "Surprise!"

Obi-Wan screams and falls into the hole.

Ghost Qui-Gon stares down after him, his face shocked and a little confused.

Ghost Obi-Wan shows up thirty seconds later. "Master! Don't do that!"

"How was I supposed to know you'd freak out!"

"MASTER! YOU ARE DEAD. AND NOW I AM DEAD! WHO'S SUPPOSED TO TRAIN ANAKIN NOW?"

"... WELL, he was going to kill all the Jedi so we dodged a bullet. Or in this case, a thousand bullets."

"...I hate you so much right now."

 **I don't apologize, but... man, I must have been slap happy or something.**


	9. A Captain, A Commander, Two ARCS, Two

**So I am going to try and be better about updating this thing. And responding to reviews!**

 **BraveSeeker3: Maul is never happy. Nor would I ever want him happy. That means someone is dead or something like that. I really hate Maul...**

 **Sparks67: My Padawan and I loved this review so much. We just started laughing and had a few evil cackles. To be honest, I just threw that in there to see if anyone would catch it and be interested. That answers my question. Padawan! We need to keep working on that story!**

 **HarceusMjalga: Hey there again! Thanks. Dang it! I just made one less Cody in the world! (Cody doesn't just mean pillow. It also means loyalty. And I want to name a girl Codi. But hey, it's your future child.)**

 **Antonia Rose: I love my Padawan! *hugs the Padawan* And thank you for your review! I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

 **So we still have fluff and stuff but we are going to start getting into that angst stuff my Padawan was talking about all the way at the beginning. So hope you like it!**

 **A Captain, A Commander, Two ARCS, Two Generals, and The Pillow**

Cody had no idea how he got into this situation. He tried to recall what had happened exactly, and came up with the most bizarre story.

It had all started when he laid down on the hard ground. The battle that day had been long, hard, and very, very, exhausting. All the clones were either on guard duty or were already asleep. Cody had just closed his eyes and was starting to drift off… when a weight was suddenly felt on his right shoulder.

Cody opened his eyes and glanced over to find a very familiar looking head. "Um… Rex?"

"Hi, Cody." The captain didn't move, but put his hands across his chest and closed his eyes.

For a brief moment, Cody debated if he should ask Rex what he was doing, but then dismissed it. Rex obviously wanted a 'pillow' and Cody saw no reason to deny his brother. So he closed his eyes again and started to drift off, when again, a weight appeared on his left shoulder.

Fives didn't even say a word to the commander, but turned on his side and glanced up at him. He gave a small smile at Cody then closed his eyes.

Cody mentally shrugged. Two clones had used him as a pillow before, so once again, the commander saw no problem with the situation.

That was when it started to get a little crazy.

The commander didn't even have time to close his eyes when Echo appeared, threw his helmet to the side and laid down against Cody's right ribcage.

"Um… Echo?"

"Yes, sir?"

"What are you doing?"

Echo tilted his head slightly, "What am I doing?"

"Echo, stop repeating the commander," Fives mumbled.

"Fives, you don't need to remind me."

"Well, sometimes I feel like I do."

Rex chuckled on Cody's right. "How about we just sleep?"

Fives and Echo agreed and got comfortable again, with Cody still very confused. He frowned slightly and closed his eyes- only to pop them open again when General Kenobi appeared and put his head opposite of Echo.

"Commander."

Cody stared up at the sky, his confusion turning into slight annoyance, "General. What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" was Obi-Wan's cryptic reply.

Immediately, Echo jumped on the sentence. "See, Fives. General Kenobi can ask a question!"

"Echo, he's a General. And he didn't repeat the question."

Rex groaned, "Can we just go to sleep, please?"

"Sorry, Captain," Obi-Wan apologized, "But I thought I would join all of you."

"Not you, General. You're fine. It's the ARC's I'm talking to."

Immediately, Fives and Echo protested at the accusation. While they were stating their complaints, no one noticed the two figures walking over near them.

"Care if we join you?" Anakin Skywalker, asked with a smirk. Ahsoka looked at the pile of clones, a little confused.

Cody didn't get to reply before the two new Jedi rested their heads on his legs.

Anakin's voice was heard, "Wow, Master! He really is comfortable!"

"I told you, Anakin." Obi-Wan's dry voice replied from somewhere. Cody was too confused to remember where his General was anymore.

"What do you think, Snips?"

Ahsoka had a playful ring to her answer, "He was properly named, Master."

Rex grunted. "I'll say. Best spot in camp."

Fives- or Cody thought it was Fives, but it could have been Echo- replied. "I agree, Captain."

"Best spot in camp." No, that was Echo.

"Echo!" Which meant that was Fives.

"What?"

"I just told you to stop repeating!"

"I was just reaffirming the stance!"

"By echoing him!"

Cody could have sworn he heard Ahsoka say, "Also properly named," but Fives and Echo were arguing rather loudly.

Rex finally ordered the two silent and ordered them to go to sleep.

But of course, he couldn't order Anakin to be quiet.

"I mean, how can someone be this comfortable? He really is a pillow- armor and all."

Cody rolled his eyes. "You know I can hear you, General Skywalker?"

General Kenobi tried to take pity on Cody. "Anakin."

"How can armor be comfortable? I've tried on Rex before-"

Cody heard Rex mumble, "That was a strange day."

"-and it wasn't nearly as nice."

" _Anakin."_

"Do you think we could steal your Commander a while, Master?"

Echo, Fives, and Rex all immediately sided with their General for borrowing the Commander. Ahsoka was the only one to voice a protest. "What am I? A Hutt?"

"The only reason I don't ask for a transfer," Fives mumbled, "Is because General Kenobi scares me…"

"I resent that comment." Obi-Wan stated.

Cody had to remind himself that everyone was very tired and probably slightly sleep deprived.

Anakin was still rambling. "It just makes no sense!"

Make that very sleep deprived.

" _ **Anakin!"**_ Obi-Wan finally got his former padawan's attention. "Go. To. Bed."

"Yes, Master." Anakin sounded like a youngling being scolded by his master… Cody had to remind himself that the Jedi technically _was_ being scolded by his master.

Silence fell upon the small group and soon, Cody could hear the deep breaths from the sleeping clones and Jedi. But the Commander couldn't sleep for the next half hour- he was too worried another clone would show up and try and sleep on his head.

But the fear soon passed and Cody drifted off, a comfortable 'pillow' for his brothers and sister.

 **This was one of my favorite chapters to write just because it was pure nonsense. And it was fluffy!**


	10. Touch Starved

**BraveSeeker3: Actually, now that I think about it... when do we see Echo actually 'echoing' other than when he is running around with Domino on Kamino. *scratches head* Now I just want to write out a bunch of situations with him repeating sentences, sometimes for a good reason and sometimes for no reason at all. (I did not need another fic idea in my head... oh well.)**

 **White Ithiliel: Is that good... or bad?**

 **AbuvTheClouds: Yay! Fluffy!**

 **Sparks67: We're on it. (;**

 **Lady-Stesonora: Cody likes being a pillow for his brothers and sisters. But yeah, he kinda roles with it sometimes because people have gotten so used to it, they forget to ask.**

 **Guest: Actually, that isn't a story we thought of... it was just a random side comment. But glad you like it! Maybe you could write it. *checks clone armor* Yeah, how is that comfortable?**

* * *

 **ATTENTION:**

 **Okay so a few notes before this chapter. One: this chapter was inspired by a random headcannon that my Padawan came across. Obi-Wan Kenobi is touch starved. So we threw around a few ideas on what to do with it and... well, this happened. You're welcome!**

 **Second: did you guys know there is no cannon medic of the 212th? Like, seriously, I can't find one. I looked everywhere on Wookiepedia and Google and found NOTHING. ZILCH. NADA. I mean, we had Kix. But Kix is 501st so we could really drag him into this. So my Padawan and I had to think about what kind of clone would be the Head Medic of the 212th- where General "I-hate-the-med-bay Kenobi" is stationed. This is what we came up with. Tell us what you think.**

 **So without further ado, let's get reading!**

* * *

It was a normal day on T _he_ _Negotiator_.

Meaning Waxer was up to something. Again.

For the entire morning, the clone had been cackling to himself and running around the ship finding every spare pillow he could get his hands on. When Wooley found out, he immediately informed Cody who proceeded to run to his quarters and stand guard for the next two hours.

' _If Waxer tries to fill my room with pillows again, I swear…'_ So he waited.

And waited.

 _And waited._

The commander started getting even more worried when Waxer didn't show up at his quarters. Seriously, what was that man up to?

After another hour, Cody finally left an R2 unit to guard his room and began to search for Waxer. Or any clone for that matter. The commander couldn't remember the last brother he'd had seen. He literally could find no one… well almost no one.

Apparently Bacta was still working in the medical bay. And he was in one of his moods. "Cody! Get over here!"

The commander sighed under his breath. Any other clone who spoke to him like that would have been put on clean-up for a week. Cody had tried once, and found it made it worse for everyone, including the general. "What is it this time, Bacta?"

"Are you looking for Waxer? Because if you see him, let me know!" Bacta threw a blanket on one of his tables in frustration before picking up a sedative. "I swear, when I get my hands on him…"

Cody almost felt bad for Waxer. _Almost._ "What did he do this time?"

"He just ran in and grabbed all of my pillows and then ran out without a word!" The medic rung his hands together. "Is he going to prank you, again?"

"I already have a guard on my room."

"Good. Have you seen Obi-Wan? I need to see him."

Cody was a little surprised by the sudden subject change. "I think the general may be in the command center. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" he pulled out a few files, "I just finished my analysis on his psychology report-"

"Kriff. Are you doing those now?"

The medic grinned. "Yep! And that reminds me, yours is scheduled for next week."

Cody groaned and Bacta grinned. "It is ' _protocol'_ , brother dear."

"I personally think you use that excuse to drive us slowly insane," Cody sighed. "How in the galaxy did you do one on the general? Didn't he threaten to throw you out of an airlock if you tried to do one on him again?" Cody pinched the bridge of his nose, afraid to find out.

"It was actually quite easy. I just did it very slowly over the past three months."

"What?"

"One question here, another question there. Often it slipped into a casual conversation or one of the _many_ times he has visited my bay after a battle." He glared pointedly at Cody who just mumbled something about stubborn Jedi under his breath. Bacta rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I want to try something and see if my suspicions are correct."

"What kind of suspicions?" Cody asked, again afraid to find out.

Bacta thought for a moment, before answering, "It's just a speculation, but I think Obi-Wan is touch-starved."

Cody blinked. "Touch-starved?"

The medic nodded again. "Yeah. It's a lack of positive and affectionate touch. It can lead to emotional and mental instability, as well as lower self-esteem, anxiety, stress, and depression. Those who are touch-starved often accidentally, or purposefully, neglect themselves, not eating or sleeping enough."

Cody took a breath. "You think he's...neglecting himself?"

Bacta shrugged. "It's just a speculation. From what I can remember, Jedi are taught to avoid physical touch as much as possible, but they still get enough to survive properly, I think. Obi-Wan is an extreme example. He might still be affected by the events on Kavado."

The commander winced slightly at the thought that of encounter, still not quite over how far down in the dumps his general had gotten.

Bata shrugged. "But I'm fairly sure this is something a little deeper. Have you ever seen the general initiate physical touch with anyone?"

Cody thought back to all the instances when a clone would pat the general on the back or touch his shoulder. Each and every time the Jedi looked startled, like he wasn't used to the touch and feel of a hand. But he never complained. In fact, the Jedi seemed to like these small fleeting touches. And around his former padawan and grand padawan, it was even more obvious.

The clone swallowed heavily. "No. He hasn't unless someone did so first."

Bacta nodded and shrugged slightly. "I could be wrong, but it sure looks like Obi-Wan is touch-starved. If my speculation is correct, this has been going on way before the war."

Cody shook head, still trying to wrap his mind around the idea. "What can we do to help this go...away?"

Bacta pursed his lips. "Offer as much physical touch whenever you can. Don't overwhelm him, just...be gentle. But once again, I need to test my theory."

"What are you going to do?"

"Hug him."

"Bacta!"

"What?"

"You just said be gentle!"

Cody's comm suddenly beeped and the clone glared at Bacta. "We'll talk about this later." He then answered his comm. "Commander Cody."

"...Wooley here...Uh...you better come see this, sir…"

The older clone frowned heavily, narrowing his eyes. He practically hissed, "What did he do?"

There was a pause of silence from the other clone. "Um...you should just...see this for yourself, Commander…"

Cody sighed slightly. "Ok. Where are you? And I swear, if Waxer put you up to this 'cause he's threatening you or giving you his sweets stash…" He didn't have to finish his sentence; his brother's imagination was good enough when it came to him.

"Training room #13, sir." Wooley obediently, if a bit hesitant, replied.

Cody shortly nodded. "Alright. I'm on my way." He clipped his comm back onto his belt and bolted for the training room hallway, without even a farewell to the annoyed medic, who called after him.

"Let me know what you find! I'll personally make his life miserable…"

Cody ignored Bacta. Hopefully whatever his mischievous brother was up to, it wouldn't land him in any trouble with the general.

Cody smiled slightly. Ha, that would be the day; who was he kidding? If anything, General Kenobi would probably be delighted if Waxer pulled off another prank. It was rumored that the Jedi liked to play tricks on his former apprentice, and seeing the two generals interact, Cody didn't doubt that. His general was known to have an... _interesting_ sense of humor.

Cody ran into the training room, ready to yell at Waxer… which desire promptly turned into shock.

In the middle of the room, literally every pillow on the _Negotiator_ was thrown onto the pile and in that pile was almost every available clone. Waxer was asleep on top of the pile, with Boil leaning against him, snoring.

Wooley stood at the door, hands on hips, staring at the pile. Cody joined him, and blinked several times, trying to see if he was dreaming. "Wooley… What happened?"

"Do you remember the times when we were cadets and everyone formed a giant pile of pillows and fell asleep together?"

"...Yes….?"

"Well, Waxer wanted to replicate it."

Cody stared at the pile of clones. "...By getting _every_ brother and available pillow on _The Negotiator_?" Wooley nodded slowly, watching his commander warily for any sign of anger. Cody's face was strangely blank, until he turned towards the other clone with a frustrated frown.

"Why wasn't I invited?"

The younger clone made a strangled choking sound. "...Sir...we...we, um...were honestly expecting a different reaction…"

The commander's frown deepened. "Well, you expected wrong." Cody then turned back to the pile and proceeded to walk over to it, laying down next to a shiny.

Wooley stared for a moment before shrugging and following the commander. He sat down next to Cody before asking, "Mind if I use you as a pillow?"

"If you must. Just don't wake me. And call Bacta and tell him what's going on." Cody fell back and closed his eyes, almost immediately falling into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

General Obi-Wan Kenobi was wondering where his men had went. It wasn't like they could just leave the ship without opening the airlock or taking a shuttle away. Yet here he was, wandering the empty halls trying to find one clone, at least _one clone._

Even Cody, the reliable and standard commander, seemed to have vanished. But the Jedi could still sense everyone on the ship, and none were alarmed. If anything, they seemed quite relaxed and peaceful.

No one was in the mess hall. No one was in the command center. No one was in the hanger. No one was in the barracks. If the 212th hadn't been in empty space, literally in the middle of nowhere, Obi-Wan would be a little annoyed that no stations were being attended. But the idea of all of the troops leaving their posts was boggling.

He wandered aimlessly about, just calling out, "Hello? Is anyone there?" feeling a bit foolish when no one answered.

After almost an hour, he finally found a clone. Unfortunately it wasn't the clone that he wanted to find.

"Kenobi! There you are! Get over here!" Bacta folded up a medical blanket and put it away with a dozen others exactly like it.

Obi-Wan mentally sighed. When he asked the men to call him by his name, this was _**not**_ what he meant…. "What is it Bacta?"

"I want to test something. Sit down on that bed." Bacta motioned towards one of the many empty medical tables.

"Bacta, now is not the time. Have you seen my men?"

"Which one?" Bacta pulled out a file and began to flip through it.

"Any of them!" Obi-Wan replied, exasperated.

"They're in Training Room #13, Kenobi. You can check on them in a moment, now sit down!" Bacta had that dangerous glint in his eye again and the Jedi thought it would be good to humor the medic… for now.

"Why are they in there?"

Bacta shut the folder and put it away, "Waxer thought it would be a good idea to start up an old- no need to look so nervous, Obi-Wan. I'm not doing a check-up- clone tradition from all clone's cadet days."

Obi-Wan relaxed slightly at the words, 'not' and 'check-up'. But he still was a little confused at Bacta's reply. "What is it? And why was I not informed?"

"It's not really your style, Obi-Wan. Not breaking the rules or anything but-" Bacta suddenly stopped talking and paused with his fiddling around. He slowly turned towards the Jedi and tilted his head slightly. "Perhaps…" he paused, "No, that may not be a good- But then again… It would be a nice way to test it. Mmmm…." He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

Obi-Wan's nerves started up again. Every time his medic looked at him like that, it was never good- in his opinion. "Bacta?"

The medic seemed to come to a decision because he nodded slowly. "Yes, I think I will. Obi-Wan, head to Training Room #13. Doctor's orders."

"...Why?"

"Because I said so. Now get out, Kenobi!" Bacta grabbed the man by the arm and shoved him towards the door.

Obi-Wan was very confused. "But, aren't you coming?"

"No! I could never stand those things. Too many germs. Besides, someone has to hold the fort if someone calls us." He made a shooing gesture to Obi-Wan. "I'll be down there in 10 minutes. If you're not there…" Bacta left the threat hanging in the air before shutting the bay doors.

Very confused and a little miffed, Obi-Wan headed down the hall to Training Room #13.

* * *

To be completely honest, Obi-Wan had been expecting a complete and total free-for-all game of capture the flag or king-of-the-hill. Not a giant pile of sleeping clones.

So he just stood there for several minutes, trying to understand, and miserably failing. When Bacta showed up, he was still standing there, very confused.

Bacta rolled his eyes and explained. "Some nights, every clone grabbed a pillow and joined in a giant pillow pile with their fellow brothers in their barracks. It was...comforting to them to know their brothers were beside them. Though I've never understood it.." He muttered at the end.

Obi-Wan nodded slowly. "And you wanted me to see this because?..."

Bacta scowled and narrowed his eyes. "Because _you_ , Kenobi, are going to join them."

The Jedi stiffened immediately, eyes growing slightly wide. "What?" He managed to ask, after several beats of silence.

The medic internally grinned. Outwardly he glared threateningly. "You. _In pile._ _ **Now.**_ " And if the tone wasn't enough, the medic shoved the Jedi in the direction of the sleeping clones.

The Jedi seemed to turn three shades paler and immediately fought against Bacta. "No. Not happening. Not doing it."

Bacta grabbed his arm and physically dragged the man over to the pile. "Sit. Down."

"No."

"Obi-Wan."

"No."

 _"Kenobi."_

"No."

 **"Sit."**

" _No."_

" **Down."**

" _No."_

" _ **Right."**_

" _No."_

" _ **NOW!"**_

Bacta shoved the Jedi onto the pile, directly next to a sleeping Cody. Obi-Wan awkwardly sat and looked around a little freaked out by the situation that he'd been quite literally pushed into. Cody turned over and slowly opened his blurry eyes. First, he saw Bacta.

"Bacta… what are you doing here? You hate these."

"I brought Kenobi who is being a stubborn nerf-herder."

Cody almost fell off the pile at the comment and actually did fall off the pile when he saw a very uncomfortable Jedi sitting on a pillow. He sprung up and whirled around, giving Bacta his 'glare-of-doom'. The medic simply shrugged and left the room.

Cody pinched his nose again and turned to his general. "Sir, are you alright?"

Obi-Wan managed to nod, very stiff and a little embarrassed. "Yes, Cody. Bacta can be… an interesting fellow."

"You may call him interesting. I'll call him something much less polite." Cody sat down next to the Jedi, who stiffened up even more. The clone frowned. "Um… sir?" Very slowly, and very hesitantly, he reached out a hand and placed it on the man's shoulder.

The Jedi stiffened even more (if that was even possible) and looked very, very, uncomfortable.

"Are you alright, sir?"

Obi-Wan managed to nod and make a noise with his throat that sounded like a confirmation… at least that's what the clone hoped it was.

After a few seconds, the man relaxed slightly and he managed to speak again. "I'm fine, Cody. Just a little confused… and tired of Bacta's plots."

Cody chuckled softly. "I think everyone is tired of those. But I wouldn't trust your care with anyone else."

"And why is that, Commander?" Obi-Wan sounded much more comfortable and even smiled, his eyes twinkling slightly.

"Because you're too stubborn for any other clone to deal with."

The two laughed softly, careful not to wake any more of the men. After a moment, the Jedi motioned at the pile, saying, "Who thought of this?"

"I think it was 99, sir. He noticed that many of the younger cadets were really stressed out and suggested a large 'hug', as he called it, would help." Cody grinned. "I have some fond memories of these piles. We'd have one every time a really bad storm hit." His smile grew bigger. "Which was pretty much every week."

Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment before softly saying, "We used to do something similar as initiates."

"Really, sir?"

"Yes." Obi-Wan motioned with his hands, back to the pile. "But instead of a pile, we built a fort of pillows and blankets with the Force. The Creche Masters would see how much control we had over our abilities."

Cody nodded, before suddenly realizing something. _Kriff. The general hasn't had an experience like this since...being an initiate. No wonder he was so…_

The clone took a calming breath and softly asked, "Sir, will you be fine?"

"Yes. Thank you for your concern, Cody." Obi-Wan smiled at the commander.

Pause. "Well, sir. I'm going back to sleep. You're welcome to stay- and I would highly recommend it as I think Bacta may be outside with a sedative at the ready." Cody laid down on the pile and closed his eyes. Then he waited.

It probably took about five minutes for Obi-Wan to actually lay down, and the clone could tell he was a little uncomfortable. But after a few minutes, the Jedi fell into a rhythm of steady breathing.

Cody smiled and rolled on to his side and began to drift off- when he suddenly had an idea. Mentally, he scolded himself, ' _I'm as bad as Bacta! No tricking the General!'_ But still…

' _Ugh, I hate myself right now.'_ The commander popped up and looked around at his sleeping brothers. He selected five and quietly woke them. Wooley and Trapper looked a little confused. Waxer was annoyed, and Boil was too tired to care. Tile was just as chipper and excited as usual.

But when he started to explain his idea, softly, everyone perked up. Especially Waxer. Cody wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Ten minutes later, Bacta came in to 'check' on Obi-Wan. When he found him, he just stared for a second before leaving to find a holocamera. When he came back, no one had moved, and he very cheekily snapped a photo of the impromptu snuggle pile of six clones and in the very center, a smiling Jedi.

' _Well,_ _ **that**_ _confirmed my theory."_

* * *

 **So when my Padawan and I started designing Bacta he started as a clone who was obsessed with carrying little packs of bacta around the battlefield. Then we decided to give him a little bit of a snarky attitude towards his patients. And then we took the whole 'respect authority' aspect that most clones have and threw it out the window. Bacta flat out refuses to call anyone by their title, using their names instead. At first Obi-Wan was delighted- until he figured out that when Bacta calls him 'Kenobi', he is in an okay mood, when he calls him 'Obi-Wan' he is in a bad mood, and when he calls him by his full name, he did something very, very, very bad. So basically, Bacta is the only clone in the world who would march straight up to a Jedi and call them by their name and get away with it. The 212th is terrified of their head medic.**

 **We also mentioned another original clone, but more on him at a later date.**

 **Tell us what you thought of Bacta (and if there is actually a cannon medic in the 212th- because I could NOT find one and am really curious if there is one.)**


	11. Waxer (& the Cinnamon Roll of the 212th)

**BraveSeeker3: Rachet! I love Rachet! And now that I think about it, yeah, Bacta is a lot like him. Fun! I do love the 501st, but I wish we could have gotten a little more of the 212th in Clone Wars. Eh, come what may and love it.**

 **AbuvTheClouds: Bacta will definitely be back. Several times. We love him as well!**

 **Sparks67: Coric is 501st. Unfortunately. But now that I think about it, we have Kix AND Coric. Can't believe I forgot Coric! *facepalm***

 **PhoenixLordess: Don't die! It's bad for your health! (; Thank you! We have really tried to keep the personalities accurate, but grow on them.**

 **Jedi Master Megan: Sorry about the wait. Been a little busy.**

* * *

 **So we have to parts to this story. Fluff and Angst. The first half was pure FLUFF. Now... we go to the angst. Don't say I didn't warn you.**

 **And another original clone incoming this chapter. Hope you like him!**

* * *

Cody was angry. No wait, he was furious. And for once, it wasn't directed at _**his**_ General.

In fact, Obi-Wan was probably even more furious at the moment. The man was standing in the prison cell, arms crossed, glaring daggers at the still form of General Krell.

Behind him stood Cody and several other members of the 212th. Accompanying them was Rex, Fives, and Jesse, three men who had participated in the arrest and eventual execution of the traitorous Jedi. When Rex had finished his report on the events that had transpired, Obi-Wan had practically demanded to see the remains of Krell.

Several troopers went with him. All had their helmets on, but Cody didn't need the Force to know how angry they all were. The commander wanted to shoot the still body again- just to make sure the scum was dead.

It was several minutes before Obi-Wan spoke. "Take the body to the jungle."

Cody took in a deep breath and steadied his voice, "...Should we burn it?"

"...No. Leave it for a wild animal. This man was no Jedi." And with that, General Kenobi nodded to a clone to raise the elevator.

Cody couldn't help but smile grimly under his helmet. In his opinion, Obi-Wan was being very generous to the dead Jedi. He would have done something far worse then leave the body for an animal.

While moving the body, several clones approached Cody asking to shoot the dead man again, including a very angry Tile who asked over a dozen times. The commander refused until, he overheard two troopers talking about a man-eating plant that snatched a few brothers. He then ordered the men to throw the body to the plant.

No one objected the order and all felt deep satisfaction as they saw the dead man disappear into the gullet of the giant flower. The story spread and even General Kenobi seemed to approve of the disposal of the body, although he never did say it aloud or publicly acknowledged it.

After the disposal of the traitor, Cody went in search of the surviving 212th platoon that helped the 501st take down General Krell.

* * *

Cody felt like someone had shot him with a blaster straight through the chest.

Boil stood at attention in front of him, his cheeks stained with tears. The clone took a deep breath and managed to gasp out, "Waxer's dead," before he lost it. He fell to his knees and began to cry again.

The commander rushed over to catch him, gently dropping next to him. He wrapped his arms around his brother and held him, unable to speak. The idea that Waxer was gone was one that the clone could hardly comprehend. Cody was too shocked to feel any pain at that moment. After a few moments, he managed to ask, "How?"

Boil babbled the best he could, "Krell… ordered us _to- to attack-_ " he broke off and began to weep again.

But Cody understood what he was telling him. He had heard enough of the report to know that for one horrifying battle, it had been clone vs clone- brother vs brother. The shock and horror of Waxer being killed by one of his own was enough to knock Cody out of his daze. He closed his eyes and let the tears fall, gripping his mourning brother.

Boil buried his head in Cody's shoulder and tried to find comfort- but it became useless and he broke again.

Neither spoke but held the other.

* * *

 _The Negotiator_ was quiet. A little too quiet, in Cody's opinion. He made a mental note to make sure Waxer wasn't up to another prank- then felt another painful stab in his heart as he remember that a prank from that brother wasn't possible.

It had been about a week since Umbra and everyone had felt Waxer's loss.

The mess was unusually quiet, beds were never checked for pranks and no one had to worry about the clone randomly showing up and dragging them into another trick. And it was awful.

Trapper had personally taken it on himself to comfort Boil to the best of his abilities. He trained with him, ate with him, and mourned with him. Boil slowly began to get better and better, but there was one point no one could help him with.

"What am I going to tell Numa?"

Cody was a little confused when he first heard Boil moan that. Then the image of the tiny Twi'lek girl popped into his head and Cody could only pat Boil on the back. No brother seemed to know what to say.

A week after Waxer's death, a rumor started floating around that Boil was trying to learn to learn Twi'lek. Cody never told anyone, but he often caught glimpses of the clone studying with General Kenobi, struggling with the new words and accent.

Those little study sessions seemed to help Boil steady a little. A clone with a purpose was very hard to defeat, indeed.

Boil wasn't the only one suffering. All of the clones were missing their brother's pranks and jokes. Everyone would tell one of his old ones or stories about why Waxer was assigned to clean-up duty for a week so many times. They'd laugh together, cry together, and then fall silent.

Even Bacta was affected. He was even more snappy, rude, and horrible to his patients, while denying the fact that he missed, 'that insufferable little nerf-herder'.

Two weeks after Umbra, the 501st and the 212th got together to honor their brothers who had fallen fighting one another or by the hand of Krell. Full honors to both sides and a lot of crying. Many clones silently cursed Krell to the worst afterlife possibly conceived in their minds.

* * *

Cody walked into his office and got a bucket of water spilled on his head. Instinctively he roared, "WAXER!" Then paused and looked around very confused. Someone had gotten into his office and covered the floor in pillows- not waist deep, but just enough to not see the floor. A few of his files had been spread out and there were several paper airplanes.

When Cody got to his desk, a simple note was on top of the mess.

 _Commander Pillow,_

 _I thought you might have needed a laugh. Hope this brightens your day!_

The note wasn't signed, so whoever the prankster was was not completely willing to brave any punishment from the 'furious' commander.

Cody picked up one of the planes and threw it across the room. It was rather pathetic and crashed into the fluffy ground. And then the man fell to the ground laughing.

Wooley came running in, afraid his commander had finally snapped, only to look around and join the commander on the floor, tears streaming out of his eyes.

When the two had recovered, Cody had a twinkle in his eye. "I haven't laughed that hard in a long time… I have a feeling whoever this 'prankster' is, they'll be striking again soon."

"Agreed, sir. … Should we warn the others?"

Cody grinned, "... I think not. Let's see how this pans out."

Over the next week, childish pranks erupted from everywhere. From plastic detonators, to whoopee-cushions under the mattress. No one was safe from the new prankster's reign of terror.

Even General Kenobi found himself a victim to a prank- mind you it wasn't awful. He walked into the command center and found a jar labeled 'GUNGAN SNACKIES'. Obi-Wan was a little confused, but opened it up only to yelp and jump back as something shot out. He then laughed at the tiny stuffed toy of a gungan, quietly chuckling about how Jar Jar had attacked him from a jar.

Bacta was the one who discovered the prankster, which was no surprise to anyone.

The 'Prankster' turned out to be a newer clone, who Waxer had sort of taken under his wing when he joined the 212th. His name was Tile- but everyone called him Ti. Waxer and him had hit it off when the new shiny had first joined up (although poor Ti had been brought on during a strange occurrence involving General Kenobi being a puppy). In fact, Waxer taught him everything about his pranks and plots for his brothers. Many people considered Ti Waxer's 'prodigy' in a sense. However, there were a few differences. Unlike his successor, Ti actually thought about his pranks in great detail- including consequences and the victim's reaction- before doing them. He was quite sweet, and just wanted to make people smile, not so much angry at him. When people were down, he wanted to make them laugh- hence why he started his small pranks (THAT and he had a dream in which Waxer told him to cheer up the crew… and Ti couldn't find a reason to not follow 'dream Waxer's' order).

When Bacta had found him, Ti had been posting holo's of all the pictures Bacta had taken over the years around the medical bay. You can imagine the chaos that ensued.

"TI! YOU LITTLE- GET BACK HERE!"

"AAAHHH! BACTA! I THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE THE DECORATIONS! THERE'S ONE'S OF CODY AND THE GENERAL AND WAXER AND-"

"GET OVER HERE SO I CAN SEDATE YOU PROPERLY YOU KRIFFING LITTLE SHINY!"

"I'M NOT A SHINY! I'VE BEEN HERE FOR ALMOST NINE MONTHS!"

"SHINY IN MY BOOK! STAND STILL!"

"AAAHHHHHH! PLEASE, I WANT TO LIVE!"

Ti quite literally ran into Obi-Wan, who landed with a thud and a surprised 'oof!',as he escaped the clutches of Bacta's wrath (to be honest, Bacta was more pleased to yell at someone for messing with his stuff again then to be mad. But don't think he admitted that to anyone). And once the secret got out, you can bet several people started to keep a close eye on their younger brother.

A few days later, Ti organized another cuddle pile- the first one since Waxer's death. No clone missed it (except for Bacta, of course) and Cody even dragged the General along, but only when he agreed to be Obi-Wan's pillow again. All of the clones were a little miffed by this, but they got over it real quick.

Waxer would be sorely missed by the 212th, but the brothers knew things would be ok. Besides, Waxer would have pranked the entire ship till it exploded if the troops didn't keep blowing up the annoying clankers- and who were they to let their brother down?

* * *

 **Tile is the cinnamon roll of the clones. He's like the permanently shiny little brother, but don't get him angry- He can kill you. We thought we needed a cinnamon roll in the 212th since they were in the middle of the war. And after Waxer died in the Clone Wars, there needed to be someone who was a sunshine that Boil would watch over!**

 **I think Numa and Tile would be excellent friends... great, someone pick up that idea because I am NOT writing it.**

 **Review please! How'd you like Tile?**


	12. Stages of Grief

_**Note: Updated earlier today. Be sure to go back and make sure you read the previous chapter.**_

 **You can thank the next two chapters on a review from a while back. Someone made the comment about if Cody got mad at Obi-Wan for getting the line of fire, then imagine how mad he got during the Rako Hardeen incident.**

 **And then I did some research. And found out that Rako Hardeen was AFTER Krell.**

 **Well, kriff Obi-Wan, I hope you told your troops you were going to fake your death! I mean, you didn't tell Anakin. Or Satine. Or Ahsoka. ….. You did tell them, right?**

* * *

Cody could tell you exactly what he was doing when he was informed about the General.

He had been running through basic protocol codes with some of the more experienced troops, making sure that they still knew even the lesser used numbers and letters. He had been planning to have another session with the fresher troops to evaluate how well they learned when his com link went off.

"Alright men, find a partner and have a basic landing protocol on Coruscant." Cody nodded to the troops, some more eager than others, before turning away and answering the call.

He wasn't sure what he expected, but a mellow Rex was not at the top of his list. "Rex. Is something wrong?"

"Cody…" Rex hesitated for a moment, "I'll be arriving in a few minutes. Have your men ready for a… an update."

"Uh…" Cody frowned, but shook his head clear. "Alright. I'll have them report to the hanger." Rex gave a nod, then hung up. Cody didn't know what was going on, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.

Wooley approached Cody, his face laced with concern. "Cody, you look worried. Is something wrong?"

"Rex is coming to give the entire 212th an… update."

"An update?"

Cody shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't like the sound of it." He shook his own thoughts away before asking Wolley to give the order for everyone to meet in the hangar of the _Negotiator._

Wooley nodded slowly. "Yes, sir." He turned away before looking back, "What could it be about, Cody?"

Cody hesitated. His gut was tight and his heart was pounding. A single thought had been on his mind and he finally voiced it. "I don't know what to think… But I have the feeling that our general has just done something stupid. Really stupid."

* * *

Rex stood on the ramp of an open transport, slightly above everyone. Cody stood at the bottom of the ramp, his expression stone while worried thoughts danced around in his head. Wooley stood next to him, his commander's words echoing through his head. Behind the two, the entire 212th stood at a stiff attention.

Rex took off his helmet, his face solemn and distressed. "At ease. Today I am not here as a captain, or a soldier. I am here as a brother."

Cody felt a shiver race down his spine. Something was horribly wrong.

"General Skywalker would have been here, but I convinced him to stay as he would not be in the correct state of mind to tell you all this but-" Rex's voice cut off slightly. He took a deep breath and began his report.

He told about how General Kenobi and General Skywalker, along with Commander Tano had been headed to a meeting and had been attacked by a sniper. He detailed out the chase scene as the two generals took to the roofs and Ahsoka remained on the streets. Rex's voice halted for a moment. He took a shuddering breath. "General Kenobi was shot in the chest, falling off the building from the shot. By the time the paramedics arrived…" Rex trailed off his voice becoming quiet. "It was too late."

Cody couldn't breath. He physically dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around him in a form of comfort. It didn't help. The entire 212th reacted in a similar manner. Several fell to the ground, heads bowed and hands shaking. A few shook their heads muttering how it couldn't be be true. One clone began to punch his own leg, as if trying to wake up from a bad dream. That's all this could be. It had to be a dream. This couldn't be real. Cody seemed to be trying to convince himself that nothing was wrong. Bacta had just given him too much painkiller and this was all an illusion.

Wooley grabbed his commander's arm, squeezing it tightly as if trying to reassure himself he wasn't alone.

Rex hurried down the ramp and dropped down next to Cody. He wrapped an arm around his brother and spoke in a hurried whisper, "The 212th is on leave until further notice from the Jedi. They know this is a shock- it is for them as well."

"I… I…" Cody closed his eyes and balled his fists, trying to keep it together, "Did they get the sniper?"

"... He escaped."

Cody almost screamed. He looked at Rex, shaking his head slowly. "This… this can't be real. I-"

Wooley tightened his grip on Cody's arm, "There has to be a mistake. Maybe General Skywalker heard wrong! I mean he can't- the General can't-" The clone choked on the oncoming tears, trying to keep them at bay, but eventually failed. The captain began to sob, burying his face on Cody's shoulder.

The sobs seemed to snap Cody back into reality and he hugged Wooley tightly. Cody closed his eyes, the tears beginning to come.

Rex moved closer and hugged both of his brothers, wishing that he had not had to bring the news.

"I'll- I'll kill him," Cody managed to choke out.

Rex smiled grimly, "I think General Skywalker has already called dibs on that. I don't think I'll see him for quite some time as he chases the sniper around the galaxy."

Although he would like to see what General Skywalker would do to the man who killed his General, Cody also knew he wasn't thinking straight. He wasn't ready to leave the ship, let alone the port. So he just cried, praying that this whole thing was a dream.

* * *

It was two days later. Everyone was in the mess hall eating. Or at least, attempting to eat. Most played with their food, and all voices were either lowered or silent. Cody sat at a far table with Wooley, Boil, Trapper, and Crys. No one spoke, simply staring down at the full plates with a blank look.

Men died in war, everyone knew that. But none of them had lost their general before. If a Jedi ever died, most of the clones went with them from sheer loyalty to their leader. But there hadn't been even a chance for the 212th to protect Kenobi.

"I'll kill him." Boil finally broke the silence. "I'll kill that Hardeen if it's the last thing I ever do."

 _Rako Hardeen._ That name alone sent a chill through everyone's spines. The killer had been captured and imprisoned by General Skywalker. Most clones wished something worse, but they knew General Kenobi wouldn't have wanted that.

But that didn't mean the clones didn't wish the worst possible fate on him. Cody was reminded of when they were disposing Gen- _no he wasn't a general, he was a murderer_ \- Krell's body. Watching it disappear down a flowers gut had been quite satisfying. Too bad they couldn't do the same thing to Hardeen.

Cody clenched his fists tightly, "How could this have happened? He was a kriffin' Jedi! What idiot steps out from behind cover and gets blasted?!" Cody's voice was low and angry. To be honest, part of him blamed his general for getting shot.

How many times had he lectured Obi-Wan about attacking without any back-up? About how the Jedi was not invincible, no matter how many times he escaped a perilous situation? Cody had lost count. Yet not a single one had seemed to flash through the man's head as he ran to his death.

His thoughts were snapped awake by a very loud, very angry voice.

"Alright! Everyone on their feet!" Bacta had climbed up on a table and was standing, his hands on his hips. Buzzer was standing on the seat, slightly below his mentor and idol, his face trying to copy the angry yet serious expression. "I want everyone in Training Room 13 in the next five minutes!"

Most clones got up from their seats, too depressed to question the order. The file of clones headed out the door and down the hallway into the desired location with Bacta and Buzzer herding the entire group down the hall. When everyone was present (and Bacta called role three times to ensure it) he ordered everyone to sit in a circle on the ground.

"Alright! Everyone this is a safety circle. If anyone wants to speak their mind just stand up and talk. I'll start." Bacta ignored the confused expression and cleared his throat loudly. "I think the fact that the General died is stupid, unfair, and the most horrible thing that has happened to this battalion."

Cody's mouth dropped open. Did Bacta just call Obi-Wan _by his title?_

"And," Bacta continued ignoring the hushed whispers, "I don't like it one bit. But I know for a fact that if the General could come back from the dead he would give us a long lecture about how he isn't really dead, but 'One with the Force' or whatever the kriffin' Jedi believe. So everyone here needs to get their act together and start acting like the soldiers you were trained to be!" The medic sat down without another word and glared at the ground.

No one moved for several minutes after that, too shocked to react. Cody was still trying to wrap his mind around the situation when a clone to his right stood up.

Tile looked like he would rather be somewhere else at the moment, twisting his long hair with his fingers. Apparently, he hadn't taken the time to pull it back into its normal ponytail this morning. "I…" he swallowed hard and continued, trembling, "I miss the General." Ti's sheepish smile made a few men chuckle, "I miss his smile, his kindness, his friendship. He was… a brother."

Cody felt the tears start to come again, but he forced them down. Tile looked like he wanted to continue, but sat down, his face bright red.

Boil popped up immediately, his expression angry. He began to rant about how evil Rako Hardeen was for taking their General away from them before his time. Many clones growled in agreement and Bacta had to ask the man to sit down after five minutes. Wooley then stood up and gave a solemn speech about how things would never be the same in the 212th again. One by one all the men stood up and gave their opinions on the situation. Some questioned what would happen to the 212th now. Would they be split up? Would a new General be appointed over them? Several broke down crying, their emotions overcoming any other feeling and Ti was soon running around and giving hugs of comfort.

After most of the men spoke, Cody shakily got to his feet. "I… I am mad. I am mad at Hardeen-"

Boil let out a loud growl at that, but Cody ignored him.

"And I'm furious with our General." Cody looked down at his feet, "How could he just leave us like this? General Kenobi has survived battles with General Grievous, betrayal, the Sith, and he is killed by a _sniper_?" Cody clenched his teeth, "How is that even possible?! A Jedi killed by a single shot! I just wanna-" The commander slammed his foot on the ground making those closest to him flinch. "I want to kill him! And I can't because he's-" Cody's voice became shaky "-he's already gone…" Commander Cody stood for a moment before sitting down. Wooley squeezed his shoulder and gave a reassuring smile.

A few more men spoke before Bacta finally halted the 'safety circle'. "Alright, everyone go find a pillow and meet back here in ten minutes. Sleeping pile here tonight. _Doctor's orders._ " He had that look on his face that no one would argue with. And honestly, no one could find a reason to disobey.

* * *

Boil was the first to ask the question, "What if we had been there?"

It had come out of the blue during a training session with the newer recruits. After all, something had to keep the men semi-distracted from the grief. Practice and mock combat seemed like the best option to everyone.

Tile paused in his target practice and turned his attention to his superior officer, "Come again?" His old Checkered Squadmates, Buzzer and Cliff halted as well.

"What if we had been there," Boil made a motion with his hands, "the night the General had died?"

The other training squad that had been sent to the 212th with them, the Light Squad, stopped their target practice as well. And with Trigger that was saying something. Click and Zee frowned, their minds trying to evaluate the question.

Tile spoke up first, "Well, I would have grabbed the General around the waist and dragged him back on his transport before hunting down Hardeen." His voice was so hard and full of venom that everyone took a step back from their 'permanently shiny' little brother.

The other clones began to speak up. Some plans were more detailed than others, while some involved punching Hardeen and stealing his gun before the general even knew what was going to happen. Several men would have used themselves as a human shield for their general.

The question spread around the _Negotiator_ rather quickly and became the talk of the battalion. The plans were discussed and calculated, trying to figure out if they could have saved their General. Most everyone thought so and after a few days most clones had dreams about their own plans and rescuing the general. Many men had a hard time getting out of bed after such dreams and the discussion soon died down. It still remained in the back of their mind, however.

* * *

It was late at night when Cody rolled out of bed. He couldn't sleep- _again_. Most other brothers were either asleep or on guard duty but Cody decided to get up anyway.

He wandered around the halls of _The_ _Negotiator_ , alone with his thoughts. No one bothered him (mostly because _he was a_ _ **commander**_ ).

After a few empty hallways, Cody slowed near a doorway. It looked the same as all the others, but Cody knew better. He hesitated for a moment before activating the panel. It slid open revealing a lived in sleeping quarters.

Cody could almost imagine Obi-Wan sitting on the bed and smiling at him, " _Ah, Cody. Come in! Would you like some tea?"_ As if his feet had a mind of their own, he entered and the panel closed behind him, a dim light flickering on.

The clone examined the quarters. It was neat and clean. The closet was lined with clean and freshly pressed tunics and an extra pair of boots was buried in the corner. The sleeper was made without a single wrinkle in the blanket. Leave it to the general to be a neat freak.

With a soft sigh, Cody sat down on the bed and placed his fingertips together, resting his forehead against them. He closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. In a whisper he began to speak aloud, "General…? I… I don't know if you can even hear me, but I… I need to talk to you."

" _Of course, Cody. What is troubling you?"_

Cody opened his eyes and looked around the room, as if expecting to see a ghost or something. He didn't see anything. "The men are having a hard time with your… passing. And… I am too." He gave a soft chuckle, "Of course I try not to show it. Everyone knows I'm not okay. So many have asked me for 'The Pillow' and… I just can't say yes. I've tried and tried but-"

The clone closed his eyes trying to prevent the tears from coming down. "It's selfish but… Kriff, I would trade my life for yours. If it took me dying to make you come back I'd throw myself out the nearest airlock!" A single tear ran down his cheek and Cody quickly wiped it away. "But I know that is impossible. The 212th would be missing both commanding officers. And if I did that you would make me wish I had never been born in whatever afterlife there is… if there is one for us clones."

Cody closed his eyes and could practically hear Obi-Wan's voice ringing in his ears, " _Cody… All living things join with the Force. You will be with your fallen brothers again."_

"I sure hope you were right, General." Cody looked up at the empty room and allowed a smile, "Because when I get there I'm going to make your afterlife miserable!"

Exhaustion overcame the man and he laid back on the general's bed. For the first time since the general died, Cody had no trouble falling into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

It was three weeks after Obi-Wan's death. The entire 212th stood at attention in the hangar, all helmetless. Cody and Wooley stood at the front of the group, standing on the ramp of a ship. In front of them was an empty medical stretcher, hovering in mid air. Placed on top of it was a makeshift metal tube of spare parts that Click had quickly assembled. It was the best they could do for a lightsaber replacement.

The Jedi had had a funeral weeks ago, but the clones had felt it proper to have their own.

Of course none of them had ever organized a large funeral that did not involve burying brother's in the ground and leaving their helmets and any available blaster in the pile. Then they would march on to the next battle after a brief moment of silence. When it came to a "grand funeral"? They had no idea where to start.

The event became impromptu. Click threw together the "lightsaber" and Bacta brought the stretcher. All the men lined up in two columns with an empty aisle in the middle. Cody choose 8 of the veterans and they acted as the Honor Guard, pushing the stretcher down the aisle. Wooley and Cody took their places as the officiators in the front and now all men stood at quiet attention as they tried to figure out what to do next.

Tile suddenly broke the lines and ran up the ramp, stood at attention and in a loud voice began to tell how he first met the General. "The first time I met the General… he was kind of fuzzy." Tile frowned and thought for a moment, "And he couldn't exactly talk because he was barking but…" the clone shrugged, "I still thought he was great."

Most brothers began to laugh at the image of General Kanine (Kenobi as a puppy) and soon a steady flow of brothers lined up to tell their favorite memories of the general, closing off each statement with a salute at the "lightsaber".

When all those who wanted to had spoken, Cody stepped forward and gave a closing speech. It was short and simple and straight to the point. It was about Obi-Wan Kenobi, their General, their friend, and their brother. A few tears were shed. A gun salute was then ordered and all men snapped to attention. The 'lightsaber' was removed and placed in an airlock, before launching it into space.

The rest of the day was spent was remembering their fallen brother in fond memories and food (mostly tea). All laughed and cried, each holding dear to their fallen brother.

* * *

It was two days after the funeral. The atmosphere of the ship was still sorrowful, but seemed to carry a lighter air about it. Men laughed more frequently and found reasons to smile. Fewer tears were shed, however the sadness remained. The men were becoming more accustomed to the empty gap in their ranks and several began to get itchy were eager to scrap some droids in honor of their general.

When Tile made a successful impersonation of Obi-Wan that sent everyone in the vicinity to the floor with laughter, Cody determined it was time to get back to work. He began to work on a request for a new General in the 212th and redeployment. There was still a war going on and there was still a Republic to fight for.

After all, it was what Obi-Wan would have wanted.

* * *

 **Cue the five stages of grief among the 212th.**

 **You didn't tell them? Of course you didn't. Because you know, secret Jedi business.**

 **Stupid Jedi...…..**

 **Next chapter: Part 2 of this arc!**

 **Review please!**


	13. The Feeling of Betrayal

**Good news: update was quicker than normal! Bad news: it wasn't as quick as I would have liked it...**

 **And we will just get to the part two and skip review comments.**

 **Cue part two: The Feeling of Betrayal!**

 **Kriff, this chapter title screams angst...**

* * *

Cody knew something was up as soon as General Skywalker came off the shuttle. First of all, the shuttle was unexpected and it's arrival sudden. Second of all, there was a complete and utter stranger with him, bald, dressed in rugged clothing, practically gray skin, and a large facial tattoo across his face. And finally, the two were arguing very loudly, not even attempting to keep their conversation private.

The commander had just finished his request for a new General and redeployment and was literally about to send it when the shuttle had arrived and he had been alerted. His first thought was that the Council had already decided to send a replacement Jedi and General Skywalker was there to introduce him.

Clearly, this was not the reason based on the argument and appearance of the stranger, who was clearly not a Jedi.

"-I don't even know what to think anymore!" Anakin threw his arms in the air, marching towards the elevator to the command center.

The stranger rubbed his forehead, as if frustrated with the Jedi, "Anakin, calm yourself. You're making a scene."

Cody had been walking towards them with a datapad and literally dropped it. He could have sworn he heard…

Anakin and the stranger reached the elevator and the doors opened. However, the Jedi was able to get out one last sentence before the doors closed.

"I am making a scene? I'm not the one who faked my death, Obi-Wan!"

"Ana-" the door cut off whatever sentence was next, but no one really cared.

Literally every clone in ear shot froze in place and stared, eyes wide and mouths gaping open. No one moved for several minutes, trying to figure out what they had just heard and seen.

Cody was just coming around when General Skywalker suddenly stormed out from the elevator and marched to his ship. The commander hesitated for a moment before rushing after him. "Uh, General Skywalker? I have-"

"Am I overreacting?" The Jedi suddenly whirled around and pointed at Cody, his face clearly angry.

Cody stepped back a little confused, "Sir? I'm not sure I understand the question."

Anakin waved angrily towards the elevator, "If I faked my death and didn't tell him, wouldn't he be angry?"

"Uh… Yes?" Cody tilted his head, now very confused.

The Jedi seemed satisfied and calmed down remarkably. "Good. As you were Commander." He began to walk away again and Cody quickly stopped him.

"Uh, sir? Who was that you were with?" Cody inquired, his heart pounding. Was that…?

Anakin pinched his nose. "That was Obi-Wan in a very good disguise of Rako Hardeen. Ugh! I can't believe the council didn't tell me they were going to fake kill him!" He marched off without another word, leaving a speechless attack battalion behind him.

The first emotion Cody felt was shock followed by joy. Extreme joy. He looked around at the men, eyes wide. He grinned at Wooley. "Looks like we won't need a new General, after all."

Several men gave out a large whoop and some threw their helmets in the air. Work had completely stopped and coms were being called and messages sent around the ship. General Kenobi was alive!

After the initial reaction the joy faded into confusion. Which was quickly replaced by anger. Cody thought back to all the pain and emotions his brother's had gone through and felt a deep rage rise up.

The rest of the men were not far behind and with no order given all the clones gathered in the hanger to talk about the new… events.

Cody called the men to attention and glanced to one of the newer recruits. "Zee! What's the update on the General?"

"Commander," Zee gave a small salute, "He is in his room. General Skywalker informed me that he was… removing the disguise."

"Ah," was all Cody could say, his blood boiling. "Did General Skywalker give the reason why the General… faked his death?"

"No, sir."

A wave of annoyance fell across the men and several cried out in protest. Cody himself felt annoyed at being left out of the loop. Were they just clones? The nasty business from General Krell only a few battles back had left a nasty scar on all clone's minds. Almost like an insecurity. And everyone hated it.

Only Tile seemed to find any sort of explanation. "Maybe General Kenobi wanted to tell us, but didn't have time. He could have gotten the mission right after he left the ship." He gave a sweet smile, "The general would never have done that to us by choice."

Cody had to agree and ordered the men to settle down. "I'm sure the general will explain when he gets settled. Until then, do your duties and jobs. You're dismissed."

Most of the men left, but a few lingered in the hanger. Cody was retrieving his datapad when the elevators slid open to reveal-

-a bald Obi-Wan.

Cody almost started laughing at how ridiculous he looked, but managed to keep a straight face. The Jedi scanned the clones before setting his gaze on Cody and giving a small smile. As he approached, Cody felt his fear's relax. Here came the general to explain everything. Just as it should be.

"Cody! I've missed you! And the men!" Obi-Wan placed a hand on the Commander's shoulder. "How was everything while I was gone?"

Cody almost flinched, but he held it back. "As well as to be expected, sir."

Obi-Wan nodded slowly, "Good, good…" He looked expectantly at Cody, as if waiting for something but Cody didn't have the faintest idea on what he was supposed to do. The two stood there for a few moments before Obi-Wan gave a shrug. "Alright, Cody. I expect a report on the men's doings while I was gone in the morning. Have a good day, Cody." He turned and marched down the lines giving smiles and greetings to all the men in his way, as if nothing had changed.

He didn't notice the half-hearted responses or the frowns.

* * *

Cody had never been so angry with his General. Never, in his entire career had he wanted to slap the man until now. Kriff, he wanted to push him into an escape pod and get him off the Negotiator, but that would have been treason.

The entire clone population felt the same way. As the days passed, no explanation was given. No apology, or even a mention of the incident was said from the Jedi. And every clone was fuming. Most clones either avoided him altogether or only spoke when needed. And even then the answers were short and choppy ending or starting with, 'Sir'. Either Obi-Wan didn't notice or chose to ignore it.

"Cody!" the general called, snapping Cody into a stiff attention.

He had been talking to Wooley, but the captain turned away and quickly made his way down the hall in the opposite direction. But even at that speed, Cody saw the flash of anger in the man's eye's and was positive he had an identical expression. He took a deep breath and forced the emotion down, turning around. "Yes, sir?"

"I just got a call from Anakin. Apparently, he has walked into a trap. Again. He needs assistance and we're it." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, running his hand across the very short bristles of hair that had been growing back the past few days.

Cody nodded. "I'll get the men ready, sir."

"Thank you, Cody." Obi-Wan frowned slightly, "Cody… is something wrong?"

"No, sir." Cody quickly shook his head, trying to push the anger in his throat down.

"Are you sure? You look rather pale."

"Sir." Cody balled his fists, "General Skywalker?"

"Right. We'll talk later."

Cody took that as his leave and quickly ran down the hall, calling up on his com. Time to go save Skywalker and Rex. Again. For some reason, Cody didn't feel as annoyed as he usually did.

* * *

The battle had been fought and won (although by the time they got there, Anakin and the 501st had pretty much straightened the entire matter out). The Jedi were giving the Council their report leaving the clones to themselves.

Rex, Cody, Wooley, Fives, and Boil were sitting together in the mess of the Negotiator.

Cody rubbed his eyes and shook his head, "We aren't over-reacting, are we?"

Rex frowned, "I don't think so. If General Skywalker had pulled the same stunt I would have expected an apology. Kriff, I still do. His fake death affected us too!"

Fives gave a nod. "I had never seen General Skywalker so angry. It was like looking at General Kre-" He cut himself off a little too late and looked down at his hands, ashamed.

"Don't even put their names in the same sentence," Boil spat out. "Or that title. He was no General."

No one spoke after that, the memory still fresh in their mind.

Cody, again, felt the scar Krell had left on the clones. On all clones. He wondered if it would ever fade. Looking around at the angry brothers, he didn't feel like it would. Especially with Obi-Wan's actions at the forefront of their minds.

As General Skywalker appeared to take the men from the 501st back to their ship with Obi-Wan, Cody couldn't help but feel like screaming. Both Generals were going around and checking with each men and calling them by name, as they did whenever possible after every battle. It had made everyone feel wanted and like they belonged. But this time, Cody felt cold and lifeless as his general made his way around.

A cold blanket seemed to have enveloped the entire 212th and their General didn't seem to notice.

* * *

Obi-Wan had thought it was the hair-cut. He admitted, it looked a tad strange and felt extremely uncomfortable to be bald. No one had asked about it, much to his shock and pleasure. He had been expecting a lecture from at least Bacta about the health hazards of a cold head. But even the medic had seemed a bit turned off by the hairdo.

After a week, a short stubble had grown and his original hair line had returned, although not the same length. Over the next few weeks it would return to normal and the Jedi would look like his old self. Obi-Wan shrugged it off. What was done was done and he was confident the men would have accustomed to it by now.

Which is why he was so confused when he walked into the noisy mess hall that the noise died almost instantly. He looked around at the suddenly blank faces who found their food more interesting than the surrounding men. Obi-Wan carefully navigated through the tables to the food line. Most men in the line quickly moved away. A few gave a sloppy salute before hurrying over to a table with the food on their plates, whether they were done or not.

Obi-Wan frowned deeper, grabbing a plate and exiting the room. The chatter grew again as soon as the doors closed leaving a puzzled Obi-Wan to eat alone. He shrugged it aside, after a moment. His men would come accustomed to the hair eventually.

After a short lunch, the Jedi decided to head down to one of the training rooms. If he recalled correctly, some of the younger men trained about now and it often involved a game. He found the group in training room 4, playing some sort of dodgeball game that involved stun blasters. When he arrived, Tile had been running from a very happy Trigger, but both froze when they saw him.

Obi-Wan gave a small smile. "Tile, Trigger, Zee, Cliff, Click, Buzzer." He nodded at each clone in turn. No one smiled back. Ignoring the fact, Obi-Wan continued, "May I join you in your… training exercise?"

No one spoke for a moment, each clone looking at one another. Zee finally spoke up, picking up his blaster, "Actually, we were just leaving, sir." He left without another word, followed shortly behind by his fellow clones.

Obi-Wan frowned but gave a quick little nod. "Oh, that's alright. Perhaps another-"

The door closed behind Tile leaving an empty room.

"-time." Obi-Wan finished to no one. Something was wrong with his men- and it was definitely not his haircut. And he was going to figure out what.

* * *

Later the same day, the general called Cody into his office. Cody was less than thrilled, but orders were orders (although the way Obi-Wan phrased it sounded more like an invite).

Obi-Wan smiled brightly at Cody when his commander entered. "Cody! I'm so glad you came. Would you like some tea?"

Cody shook his head, his lips pressed together in a tight line. Obi-Wan motioned for the man to sit down. The commander remained standing.

Obi-Wan frowned slightly. "I was hoping you could answer some questions for me."

"Of course, sir."

"Cody…" Obi-Wan tilted his head slightly. "Something is wrong with the men." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"I haven't noticed, sir." Cody glued his eyes to a spot behind his general, unwilling to look him in the eye.

Obi-Wan frowned. "Really? It is quite obvious to me. They are withdrawn and rather sullen."

"They act fine around me, sir." Which was true… Cody got along great with the men, as long as his general was not in the room.

"Cody." Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes. "Is something bugging you?"

"No, sir." Cody gritted his teeth slightly, keeping his voice even. "If nothing is wrong with you, then I am perfectly happy, sir."

The general had been taking a sip of tea, but froze, his cup held up to his mouth. He stared at Cody, slowly putting the cup down. "Cody… Are you alright?"

Cody didn't speak for a moment. "Permission to leave, sir?"

"... Of course. Good day-"

Cody didn't even wait for him to finish, but left without a word.

"-Cody." Obi-Wan looked down at his tea. It suddenly didn't look so appetizing.

* * *

It took Rex to explain everything, and that was after Anakin and him crash landed in the hangar, a few days later. Anakin was in the medical bay getting patched up leaving Rex to explain what had happened. Unfortunately, Obi-Wan was too distracted to even hear a tenth of the story. He simply wrote down 'Anakin', in all caps and tuned out the Captain, his thoughts racing.

"... Sir?" Rex waved a hand in front of the Jedi.

Obi-Wan snapped his gaze back to the clone. "Sorry. What is it?"

"Sir, I don't mean to pry but…" Rex relaxed from his stance slightly. "Are you alright?" He noted the bags under Obi-Wan's eyes and the dazed look.

Obi-Wan waved the comment aside. "Of course, Rex. I just haven't slept well the past few days. My mind has been distracted."

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, but distracted by what?"

Obi-Wan gave a small almost sad smile. "It is nice to know at least you still care, Rex."

"Sir?"

"Nothing, Captain. Just my own personal issues." Obi-Wan waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

Rex frowned, trying to understand. A sudden light leapt in his eyes. "Sir, are you distracted by the men?"

"Well," The general rubbed the back of his neck. "Yes, I am. Something is bugging them and I haven't the slightest idea of what it is."

Rex hesitated for a moment. "Permission to speak, sir?"

"Uh…" Obi-Wan tilted his head slightly. "Of course, Rex."

"Perhaps they are looking for an apology."

"An apology?" Obi-Wan asked, his confusion growing. "For what?"

"Faking your death, sir."

"Oh, that," Obi-Wan dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "No, that's not it."

Rex frowned, "What makes you so sure, sir?"

"Because," the Jedi turned to his paperwork, "They didn't know about it until after I was back."

Rex stared at the General, eyes wide. He couldn't seem to speak for a moment before practically forcing out the word, "Sir?"

Something about the tone alerted Obi-Wan that something was wrong. The Jedi looked up, his uneasiness growing. "Yes?"

"... I told them the day after the...incident, under General Skywalker's orders."

Obi-Wan's mouth dropped open. He tried to speak but nothing came out of his mouth but silent words. He managed to recover, quickly demanding, "They were told I was dead?"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh." The response was small and quiet. A new layer of fear seemed to appear on Obi-Wan's shoulders. "I… I did not plan on that. The Council was just going to send a message that the 212th were going to have leave until further notice. The why was not to be given."

"Sorry, sir." Rex made an apologetic gesture, "I was sent and Master Skywalker thought it would be good for them to know."

Obi-Wan pinched his nose. "Of course this is Anakin's fault…" He stood up, a new resolve building, "Well, I need to speak with Cody at once. Thank you for the information, Captain. You are dismissed."

Rex gave a quick salute before heading out. He made a mental note to call Cody at a later date to see how the apology went. And to give his own apology on the matter.

* * *

The apology did not go well. Correction: it went awful. Obi-Wan informed Cody that it had not been his plan to inform the clones of his 'fake death' and sincerely apologized for any hurt or pain he caused them. Maybe it was the way he said it. Or maybe it was the fact that Obi-Wan hadn't noticed until now. Most are not completely sure what happened but everyone knew it ended with a yelling match between the general and commander that involved the words "Kriff, stupid, Tatooine, and Krell," before the two stormed off in separate directions.

The rest of the day, Obi-Wan paced in his room, trying to find a solution. He had apologized. And he really felt sorry. Was he so disconnected with his own men that he hadn't realized every single one of them was furious with him? Apparently so. What did that make him, as their general? Uncaring? Uncivilized? A kriffin' idiot who deserved to be thrown in a sarlacc pit? The Jedi didn't know, but he was determined to make things right.

The next morning Obi-Wan woke up bright and early, ready to try and fix this. He offered to train with the less experienced recruits (even offering to use a blaster instead of his lightsaber). He volunteered to help Bacta in the medical bay- a place he avoided everyday of his life. He asked the mechanics if they needed any help cleaning the transport ships or unloading any cargo. Literally every job he could think of on the Negotiator, he volunteered for. All steered him away- some even refusing to speak to him.

How could their general have been so blind to their pain? The news had spread like a wildfire and a new layer of anger had been built on top of the old ones.

At the end of the long and fruitless day, Obi-Wan retired to his room earlier than usual. He was unable to sleep, however, staring at the ceiling with his thoughts whirling around. He could bake them a cake- No, not even food would make up this mess. He could ask the Council for a month's leave to some remote planet and take them to relax- No, they already had a month's leave and men were needed for the Republic. Nothing stood out to Obi-Wan as a good solution to the problem.

Just looking at the Jedi made the clones more angry! How could he apologize if none of them could even talk to him?

Obi-Wan sighed, accepting the facts. There would be nothing he could do to make it up to them. But he could try and make their lives less painful. Sleep long forgotten, Obi-Wan swung his legs over the bed and sat up. He grabbed a datapad and began to scroll through the records of the Jedi currently in the temple.

"If the 212th can't have me as a General, then I should find a suitable replacement." Obi-Wan shoved down the sorrow he felt at the thought. He wanted what was best for his- these men. And if leaving was what was best, then he would do just that.

* * *

Cody's eyes followed the general as he walked through the halls of the Negotiator. The Jedi's focus was completely devoted to a datapad- the same datapad he had been absorbed in for the past three days. Come to think of it, Obi-Wan hadn't really spoken to anyone in the last three days. Cody frowned slightly. Maybe he should check on him…

The hall was empty except for them, so Cody expected at least a greeting. When it wasn't forthcoming, the clone took the initiative. "Sir?"

The Jedi didn't appear to hear him and continued walking.

"Sir!" Cody's voice rang out a little sharper than he had intended, but it did the job. Obi-Wan's head shot up from the pad and looked over at Cody. "Yes, Commander?" His question was dull and monotone.

Cody hesitated. He had fought alongside the Jedi for a long enough time to know when something was wrong with the man. His eyes were a deep gray and seemed to carry a sorrow that Cody was unable to identify. "Sir… I… I just wanted to tell you I will be in the training room with some of the veterans for a special training session."

Obi-Wan nodded distractedly. "Of course, Commander." He walked off without another word.

Cody frowned slightly. 'Commander… he called me Commander twice.' He glanced around the hall, looking for another clone or a droid or something. The corridor was empty. The frown deepened as did the worry. Obi-Wan never called him Commander in private. Ever.

Something was very, very wrong.

Maybe he should try to figure out why the general was suddenly so subdued… No! Cody quickly shoved the thought away. He hurt us, remember? He thought to himself.

But the distracted and flat expression on Obi-Wan's face was enough to make the clone consider that maybe, just maybe, they had been a little too harsh…

Cody took a breath finally deciding that he wouldn't reach out to the general just yet, but he would definitely change his conduct around the general and watch the Jedi a little closer.

* * *

"So sure about this, are you?" The even smaller than usual Grand Master asked, his blue hologram flickering.

Obi-Wan nodded slowly. "I believe it will be the best for the men."

Yoda slowly shook his head. "Giving up, you are."

"Master Yoda," Obi-Wan stood up a little straighter, "I have done everything I could think of, but the damage is too great. I have done all I could… it is time for someone else to try and fix this mess."

Yoda didn't answer for a moment. "My great-grand padawan, you are. Your judgement, I trust. Inform your men of this change before making this request, you should."

"Master, I hardly think-"

"Inform them, you will. Then request, you will make." It was not a request. Yoda gave a knowing smile. "Talk with you soon, I will. May the Force be with you." The hologram flickered and died before Obi-Wan could respond.

Two hours later, the mid-day meal was called for. Most clones cheerfully made their way to the mess, looking forward to their meal. Everyone was chatting and laughing when Obi-Wan nervously entered the mess.

The voices almost immediately died and grew back into a more hushed whisper. Some of the men ignored the general, but most watched him, curious on what the general was going to do after almost a week of isolation.

To many people's shock he avoided the lunch line and headed to the center of the mess hall. Coming to a stop at an empty table, he climbed up on the top and stood above everyone. In a loud and clear voice he called for attention. The talk died immediately, this time from an order.

"It has come to my attention," Obi-Wan started slowly, "that I have made a mistake that has cost me your trust." He hesitated. "It was not my intention to let you know about my fake 'demise' but Anakin took things into his own hands. Again. I also should have informed you about the mission, but secrecy was of the up most importance and I was under orders from the council themselves to not tell anyone. But I should have told you somehow or ensured that you would have been properly informed of the situation sooner." He straightened his shoulders. "For this, I apologize."

Silence.

"And," Obi-Wan's voice wavered slightly, but he pulled himself together, "Due to this… situation, I have decided it would be best if the 212th receive a new General." He paused. "I will be sending in the request this afternoon and will most likely be removed within the week."

No one moved or made a sound.

Obi-Wan gave a half-hearted smile. "That is all. You may go back to your meal." He climbed down the table and began to walk out of the mess hall, trying to ignore the men around him.

No one moved, the only footsteps echoing out was the withdrawing General. If anyone dropped anything it would echo out like a blaster shot. Each step seemed to pierce into Obi-Wan's already saddened heart. 'This is for them, it is for them, it is for them,' he repeated the words over and over again, trying to find some sort of solace in them. None, if any came.

Obi-Wan was right at the door when one of the clones suddenly broke ranks, throwing his arms around the General and literally yanked him backwards. The Jedi froze and looked down at a crying Tile.

"Please… don't leave again… I don't know-" Ti cut off and burst into sobs, practically clinging to the man who he considered an elder brother.

Obi-Wan gently patted his head and was about to insist it was for the best when another clone sprinted forward and stood in front of the door out. Boil crossed his arms and glared with a look of, 'Don't even think about leaving this room or I will kill you very slowly'.

Bacta showed up out of nowhere and began to yell something in Obi-Wan's ear, but the Jedi was too confused to pay attention. What in the galaxy was going on? Didn't they want him to leave?

"-AND THAT IS THAT!" Bacta finished with a huff.

Obi-Wan blinked, "What is what?"

"You. Are. NOT. Leaving." Bacta stamped his foot on the ground, emphasizing each word.

The spell was broken and every clone in the room surged forward in a tidal wave. After the door was blocked and their general was pulled into the center of the room, unable to leave if he wanted to as Tile had still not let go.

Cody was called in and he arrived perplexed to find every available brother literally restraining the general, who looked equally perplexed. "Did I miss something?"

Tile babbled something about making the general stay and Bacta started lecturing everyone about how the silent treatment doesn't help anyone. But Boil brought everyone back into the present by marching forward and standing at attention in front of Obi-Wan.

"General, I ask forgiveness for what I'm about to do."

Obi-Wan blinked bewildered, "Uh…"

Boil raised his hand and smacked the Jedi across the face, stepping back quickly and standing at attention again. "Please forgive me, General. But that was really stupid."

"... Which part?"

"Faking your death and resigning because we refused to forgive you."

Obi-Wan blinked. "Well… in that case, I think I deserved that, Boil."

Cody stepped forward. "But don't do it again or I'll have you court martialed." The pieces finally fit and Cody gently pried Ti off the general. "General… I'm-"

"Ah!" Obi-Wan shook his head. "I don't want to hear it, Commander. We all make mistakes."

Tile calmed down before grabbing Cody and pushing him down next to Obi-Wan. He gave a small grin. "Besides, you would have left your pillow behind!"

Both general and commander looked up at the ceiling, exasperated.

Then Bacta ordered a clone pile right in the mess hall, with Obi-Wan right in the middle until the general swore he would not pull a stunt like that again. Every clone immediately obeyed.

The last thing Obi-Wan remembered before falling asleep was Cody giving him a gentle hug. "You can't lose us that easily, General…"

* * *

 **Well... that was fun. Review please!**


	14. Consequences of 5555

**Honestly, this chapter is a bit short but there wasn't much to do with it. We will be experiencing quite a time jump.**

* * *

Cody hadn't seen Rex this depressed since Commander Tano had left the Jedi Order.

His brother stared down at the lifeless body of ARC-5555, as he was carried away on a stretcher.

Fives had been a loyal brother and friend… at least that's what Rex thought. Cody wasn't sure what to think. He had always loved Fives and had enjoyed his brother's company, but the commander wasn't sure what to make of Fives' claim.

Chips? In their heads? That would make them blindly follow orders? Seemed a bit hard to believe.

But Cody couldn't think of another reason to why Fives would act like this- mental illness? Maybe he had been injected with a hallucinatory drug?… But it didn't matter at the moment because Rex needed him.

The commander placed his hand on his brother's soldier. "He was a good man, Rex. One of the best we've ever fought beside."

Rex didn't answer, but lowered his head slightly. Silence fell for a moment as Fives finally vanished from view onto the transport that would take him to have his body processed. All of the troops around began to file out, slowly and silently. The still air was filled with enough tension to cut a knife through it.

Eventually, only Cody and Rex remained. And that was when Rex finally felt the right to break down. He babbled nonsense as he fell to his knees, the tears unable to remain held back any longer.

Cody immediately sank beside him and pulled him into a hug, mumbling comfort in Mando'a.

The captain was babbling uncontrollably, gasping for air, "I- I- couldn't stop- I- I- fault. My- my- fault."

"Shh… You did your best, brother. Don't blame yourself. You tried. You tried."

"Was- wasn't- enough-" Rex gasped, hitting his fist against Cody's chest, but being so weak that it only made a slight thumping sound.

"Don't you dare say that, Rex. Fives wouldn't want you to blame yourself, he'd-"

"Co- Cody- please- d- don't-" Rex sobbed. He buried his face in his brother's shoulder, unable to speak anymore, the tears becoming too much.

Cody hugged him tighter, trying to keep his breaking brother glued together. "Rex… Shhh… It's alright. I have you. I'm here."

Rex sobbed harder, "But- some-someday you- you may- may- may not be!"

The commander flinched slightly at those words. "Rex, I will be here-"

But Rex wasn't done, "E-Echo, Hard-Hardcase, T-Tup, and now- now Fi-Fives… What-what if you- you're next!" He clutched his brother, afraid he would suddenly disappear. Every lost brother seemed to crash down on him, and the captain was slowly suffocating from the grief.

Cody was too shocked to speak. He gripped Rex tighter and thought for a moment before he finally answered, "I… I may not always be here for you, Rex. But I am right now."

Rex cried harder, unable to speak.

That was how a squad of troopers found the two a few hours later, each asleep, leaning against the other.

One week later, Rex put in his formal resignation papers and packed his bags. Cody met him in the hangar at the ramp of the ex-captain's ship. There was an honor guard standing at attention, helmet's off- all members of the 501st.

Rex gave Cody a small smile when he finally reached the commander. "I guess this is goodbye."

"For now," Cody corrected his brother. He reached out and hugged his brother, "If you ever need me, I'll be there. I promise."

"I know, Cody." Rex smiled and pulled away, holding his brother at arm length. "My offer to join me is still open."

Cody smiled. "Sorry, Rex. But someone has to hold the fort with the Generals."

"Yes, General Kenobi would hate to lose his best pillow."

"Rex!"

The clone smiled. "Good luck in battle, Brother."

"And good luck on your journey, Brother." Cody hugged him again, his heart heavy.

Rex pulled away and marched up the ramp, stopping at the top. He turned around and saluted to Cody and the rest of the troopers. Everyone replied in sync, sad smiles and nods of farewell in the mix as well.

The ex-captain felt a wave of love for his brothers and had to push off the sorrow that shortly followed. "It's been an honor serving with you, brothers… Now go blast some clankers for me!"

All the troops smiled and saluted.

Cody and Rex nodded to one another and then the shuttle doors closed.

* * *

 **Aww... Poor Rex and Cody.**

 **You know, since this was so short I think I'll post the next one. Aren't I nice?**


	15. A Promise

**Make sure you read the previous update from today before you read this.**

* * *

Things seemed normal in the packing up of the camp. Clones were loading supplies, cleaning their weapons, or boarding the gun-ships.

It was anything but normal. A silent blanket of tension, fear, and obedience was hovering over each trooper. Usually, this would be the time the Commander and the General would be discussing the next mission, or strategy changes for upcoming battles.

But there was no General.

Only a Commander, who alone seemed to be feeling something other than duty and accomplishment. Sorrow. Extreme sorrow.

Cody was mentally beating himself up. Each breath seemed to contradict everything he had ever believed in.

He should be dead. He should be on the ground, unmoving and unbreathing. His heart should be stopped.

And yet, he was still alive. He was still standing and breathing. His heart was still beating.

A clone is supposed to die before his general. He is supposed to protect his Jedi to the end. He is certainly not supposed to turn his weapon; his gun; his cannon on that same General and **_fire_**.

Cody didn't know what had come over him. All it had taken was three simple words and suddenly he was an unfeeling, unemotional, unthinking soldier. He had executed his order's perfectly, not once thinking of the consequences or what he was doing.

Now he knew. He knew exactly what he had done. He knew the truth about himself and his brothers. Fives had been right. There _were_ chips in their heads. He had always known something of the sort, but had been told they were for identification and safety. Never had he suspected this sort of thing to come from those chips.

He had thought Fives was lying.

Oh kriff, he had thought **_Fives_** was _lying_ …

How could he have ever thought that? Fives was a brother, and yet, Cody had considered he was crazy, insane even, to even think of accusing the Chancellor of controlling them. How could he have been so naive? There was evidence, Fives had said so. He had found the evidence, and even though the Chancellor- _Oh Force, the CHANCELLOR…_ \- had tried to stop him from telling anyone, Rex had heard.

Rex had heard some of his words and believed there was something.

 _Rex…_

Why in the world- in the galaxy- had he not believed Fives? Why hadn't he believed when Rex did? Cody trusted Rex with his life. He knew the man inside out. They had always been so close, and now…

Cody didn't know what to do. He wanted to run away and never look back. The look of surprise and betrayal on his general's face would never leave his mind. Everytime he blinked, an image of Obi-Wan, sinking in water, unmoving, entered his mind. Every time he felt like screaming.

His thoughts were brought to a halt when one of his brothers marched up, "We're ready to depart, Commander."

Cody looked up from the ground to Wooley, who was standing at a stiff attention. The commander couldn't help but be slightly startled at the blank look on the troopers face. Straight, serious, a blank slate. "Thank you, trooper."

Wooley saluted and marched away without another glance.

Cody had already learned that many of his brothers seemed to have lost any personality- and their own names. Even the commander himself, was feeling a little different. And he didn't like it. Cody wanted to run away- desert the Grand Army of the Republic- if it was even called that now. But every time he tried to take a step in the opposite direction the words came pounding back in his head.

 _ **Good soldiers follow orders… Good soldiers follow orders… Good soldiers follow orders…**_

Cody wanted to scream, " _SHUT UP!"_ but he couldn't. Not now. He wasn't strong enough to save his General- he couldn't resist the order. And he probably wouldn't be able to continue to resist-

But he would be there for his brothers. If any of them needed a 'Pillow' now was the time. Cody didn't know how many, if any, were 'awake' in some sort but he was determined to find them and try and keep them sane. Even if it meant going against everything he believed in. Even if it meant never getting to speak his mind again.

Even if it meant losing his own sanity.

This is what he promised to himself and his brothers.

Cody stood up and looked to his right to find Bacta at attention.

The medic saluted. "Commander, the injured troopers have been treated and are ready for transport."

"Thank you, trooper."

The sight of the medic saluting made the commander want to throw up. He wanted to scream in horror and terror at the sight of Wooley not caring about anyone. And he didn't even want to find where Boil had disappeared to- the image of all sarcasm and annoyance gone sickening him even more (actually, now that he thought about it, where had Boil disappeared too?).

Cody felt like he was suffering his General's fate- _drowning_.

* * *

 **Did I say nice? Whoops...**

 **Every time I watch Clone Wars now all I can think about is how Cody is a victim of Order 66 and how he is stuck there... UGH!**

 **And if you think this is the end, then you are incorrect. Hopefully the update will be soon. I get to use the computer more! Yay!**

 **Anyway, reviews are always welcome. Please don't kill me or my Padawan!**


	16. Rebel Brother

**I know. This is late. Sorry. We'll just jump right in.**

* * *

CC-2224 was one of the last active troopers from the Clone Wars. He had never disobeyed an order, never talked back to his superiors, and had never shown emotion. It had been a long time since he had seen another clone. In fact, he was considering retiring on some quiet planet all alone with the little remaining peace he had left in his mind (if he had anything left in his mind).

This is why he was so shocked to face a rebel one day- _that looked awfully familiar._

He had been assigned with a squad on an Imperial Transport ship- his job was simple. Navigate to the nearest Imperial bay without losing the cargo.

Out of nowhere, a rebel ship appeared out of hyperspace and caught everyone off guard. Silently, CC-2224 cursed his fellow soldiers and their stupidity. Someone hadn't been watching the scanners and hadn't given a warning of an incoming ship. He swore he'd find the guy later and strangle him- if he lived through the fight, that is.

Shots were heard, and the old clone begrudgingly put on his helmet. Something about this armor always felt so wrong... but he shook the thought aside and headed towards the sounds with a cocked gun at the ready.

He rounded a corner to find a rebel standing over several downed troops. The rebel in question was holding dual pistols and had an _old Republic clone uniform._

CC-2224 thought the design and colors looked familiar but couldn't quite place it in his memory. But no matter- A rebel had a brother's helmet and the old clone felt a surge of anger towards the man. No one wore clone armor anymore- especially not a Rebel. He practically dove at him and the two quickly lost their weapons relying on physical combat.

Eventually, CC-2224 managed to yank the helmet off the man's head and jerked back, holding it in his arms, protectively. As he went to yell at the man for stealing a brother's helmet, the words died in his throat. He stared in shock at the reflective image he saw.

The clone glared at the Imperial trooper, "I'll give you one warning. Give me the helmet, _or else."_

CC-2224 looked down at the design in his arms. Blue and white with dual pistols… A face, long buried and forgotten seemed to rise from the dust and droning voices. A familiar face…

"Rex?" the name slipped out before CC-2224 could stop himself.

The clone stiffened up and pointed his pistols at the trooper. "How do you know my name?"

CC-2224 struggled to think. Who was Rex? He was a brother, obviously. The two were close… He left the army after… after another brother died. What was his name again?

" _How_ do you know _my name_?" Rex emphasized again.

It was a number… like his name. No, his name wasn't a number… It was something else… Something… soft… _Wait, what?_

CC-2224 felt lightheaded. He grip on the helmet loosened slightly. "I… I…"

"Who are you?"

CC-2224 felt like crying. He didn't know at this point in his life. So he said the one thing that popped into his mind.

"... Pillow."

Rex's face went from angry to shocked to horrified in a matter of two seconds. He marched forward and yanked the helmet off the Imperial trooper.

CC-2224 didn't feel like he should fight back. So he didn't. He blinked at the man- unfocused. He knew him…

Rex dropped the helmet and took a few steps back, his horror growing on his face… "Cody?"

Something inside CC-2224 snapped. That name started echoing inside, in hundreds of voices. Some yelled the name, others moaned, as if they were dying. Some were friendly in calling, and others wished him harm. He felt sick inside, and very very confused. Without realizing it, he mumbled to himself, "Good soldiers follow orders…"

Rex didn't even hesitate. He punched the clone square in the jaw with all of his might.

CC-2224 dropped into darkness without firing a shot.

* * *

Everything was fuzzy. And dark. Why was it dark?

CC-2224 tried to open his eyes, but found he didn't have the strength. So he started reaching out with his other senses.

Wherever he was, it smelled a lot like a medical bay. Something about that smell made him want to smile… someone stubborn hated this place- and someone more stubborn kept them there.

He felt warm and was laying on something soft- which probably meant he was on a bed… or recovery bed, if he was in a medical bay.

His mouth had a vile taste in his mouth, but a little familiar. The man later identified it as pain killer.

Last, but not least, the noise. Two voices, raised, were very muted and muffled, making it impossible for the clone to understand.

He tried to move, but found it exhausting and soon gave up. CC-2224 thought back, trying to remember what happened.

He was on a transport… A rebel ship attacked… And there was a man… No! A brother!

Who punched him out cold.

' _Well, at least he didn't shoot me. But kriff, how hard did he hit me?'_ Hard, apparently.

The voices were now coming into focus.

"-leave him, Kanan! He's my brother!"

"He's a clone who was working with the Empire!"

"He didn't have a choice, and you know it."

"Rex, I'm trying to be patient with you, but this is not a good idea. I don't care if he had a chip, he still could be loyal to the Empire."

"Kanan, I know Cody. We fought side-by-side on the front lines and I can tell you right now, Cody would _never_ side with them. _Ever_."

' _The clone called me Cody… Rex. That was his name. And I'm… Cody?'_ 'Cody' tried out the name in his mind and found that he quite liked it. He wondered why he ever stopped using it. His attention turned back to the two rebels.

"Kanan, I respect the Jedi. I respect their opinion. But I am telling you, Cody is the most loyal, and brave soldier I have ever worked with."

Cody stopped listening. Something about that sentence put him on edge. It wasn't his name… it was the other word. _Jedi…_ He knew that word. But why?

Over the years, the trooper had found it hard to keep his mind straight. When it started to get really hard, he found that he unconsciously shoved all of his memories in the back of his head. Memories about times before the Empire. The pounding words, "Good soldiers follow orders," would drive the desire to remember away.

And for the first time in over 15 years, those words seemed to have vanished.

Cody could only describe it as a tidal wave of memories flooding back into his view.

No… _No…_ _ **No!**_

He was sitting up before his eyes flew open. "Rex!"

The two speakers were startled out of their conversation and whirled towards the clone.

The first was Rex, and Cody was shocked at how old he looked. Then again, he had aged a lot as well. The second must have been Kanan, but not at all what Cody was expecting. Brown hair, green tunic, with a mask over his eyes.

But Cody didn't care about the other man. He simply stared at his brother, the horror and terror on his face clearly showing.

Rex rushed forward and Cody broke. He cried and bawled and babbled hugging his brother tight, afraid it was all a dream.

Rex tried to calm him down, mumbling in Mando'a, much the same as Cody had done all those years ago, but Cody wasn't ready to stop.

The clone had been unable to cry for years- a prisoner in his own obedient body. Now that he could, he was afraid he would never be able to stop. "I didn't wanna… I didn't wanna… _I didn't wanna…_ " was all he could say; never finishing, but Rex understood.

I didn't want to join the Empire.

 _I didn't want to end freedom._

 _ **I didn't want to kill the Jedi.**_

For three hours, Cody continued to mumble this, crying, moaning, and in one case, hitting, over and over and over again, his face buried in his brother's armor. Eventually, he fell asleep, leaning against his brother and for once in his life, not being the pillow.

* * *

 **Not sure if I should say "I'm sorry" or "Your Welcome". I can't tell you how many times watching Rebels I wanted Cody to pop up. Didn't happen (and probably for the best), but if he did-**

 **Oh the fluff. Oh the angst.**

 **And we still have... six chapters after this! Hooray!**

 **Review please!**


	17. News

***waves sheepishly* Hello, everyone. Remember me? The worst updater ever? Well, I am back an ready to finish uploading this story starting tonight. I plan to have finished uploading by the end of next week so feel free to check for daily updates (not tomorrow, but starting Monday). I really wanted to answer reviews, but I think skipping to the next chapter is the best way to show my appreciation. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It was hard. For the first two weeks, Cody refused to leave the medical bay. Too many memories were coming back to haunt him for the first time in years and he couldn't take the pain.

Rex rarely left the room, which Cody was very grateful for.

The recovery… was slow. And very painful. Cody helped the Rebellion with information and blueprints, but other then that had little contact outside of the little rebel cell Rex was working with.

One month later, Rex came sprinting into Cody's quarters, out of breath, and happy as a clone cadet just sent out to the field.

"CODY!"

The clone, who had been reading a datapad, jumped ten feet in the air. "REX! DON'T DO THAT!"

His brother was trying to catch his breath. "I'm… too old... for all this... running!"

Cody didn't respond but just sort of nodded. Then went back to his reading.

Rex marched over and yanked the datapad out of his hands, throwing it to the side.

"Hey! I was reading that!"

"This is more important!"

"What could be more important than history records?"

Rex paused in his excitement and switched to his protective brother mode. "Cody, we talked about this. No reading history records!"

"I can't help it!" Cody stood up and grabbed the datapad that his brother had flung, "I miss the old days… I miss our brothers."

"Reading glory stories about the days of the GAR is not going to make things better." Rex pried the pad out of Cody's hands and placed it on a side table, "You need to move on. Find something to fight for."

"Did you come here just to lecture me again?"

Rex's excitement returned and the datapad was forgotten. "No! I have good news!"

"Is the Empire destroyed?"

"No."

"Did you get promoted?'

"No."

"Did you find another brother?"

"...Not exactly."

That caught Cody's attention. Rex had already told Cody about the few brothers that managed to find him and remove their chips. Wolffe and Gregor were among the few.

[One that had cheered Cody up instantly was Boil. The clone had vanished from the 212th after Order 66 and Cody had thought he had been killed. It turned out that after General Kenobi had been shot down, the clone managed to snap out of his daze and escape. He ran straight to Rex who helped remove his chip. Then, Boil had set out straight to Numa's world, to tell the young girl the fate of their brother (in her native language), and protect the girl from the new Empire. That was the last Rex had seen him. He later found out through Hera that Boil had come to the planet and did unite with Numa, and he did protect the girl- giving his life so she could escape with the rest of the Twi'leks during an Imperial Raid.]

It was stories like this that made Cody not feel quite so helpless and cheered him up remarkably, and Rex knew that.

Which was why Cody was confused by Rex's response. He sat down again and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Rex opened his mouth, then abruptly closed it. He thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. "Kriff… How do I explain this without killing you?"

"Um…what?" Cody tilted his head, very confused.

Rex seemed to find a starting point and began to talk, "Okay, remember Maul?"

"...How could I forget him?"

"Okay, well Kanan and Ezra have had some past experiences with him. None good. It's how Kanan went blind, but don't say anything about that- it's still a touchy subject."

Well, that explained that story…

Rex continued, "Anyway, Ezra and him had another incident… long story that involves getting possessed by ghosts and Maul stalking the Jedi, but that isn't important at the moment. And… Ezra found something."

Cody stared at his brother for a moment. "Is that all?"

"No. He…" Rex paused. "Don't panic and don't die from shock."

"Rex! Just tell me!"

"...General Kenobi is alive."

Cody stared at him for several seconds without saying a word. He didn't panic. He didn't die from shock. He simply passed out for ten minutes.

When Cody came back around, he forced a laugh. "Rex, that isn't funny."

"I'm not kidding." Rex sat down in a chair and faced his brother. "The General is alive, and Maul went after him."

The news quite literally shattered Cody again- then promptly glued him back together ten seconds later. He stood up, his face now determined instead of uneasy and unstable. "Where?"

"Not sure." Rex stood up to join Cody and followed his brother out the door. "But what I heard was something about a desert planet with twin suns."

Cody froze in place, and thought for a moment. He turned around and looked at his brother. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Rex hesitated, "I think so…" He paused and looked intently at his friend. "What are you thinking?"

Cody didn't answer but turned around and marched down the hall.

* * *

Two hours later, Rex and Cody were experiencing a sense of deja vu. There was a loaded ship of supplies in a crowded transportation hub with people running around.

Unlike the previous time, there was no honor guard of brothers and it was Cody leaving Rex.

Rex was currently hugging Cody for the hundredth time, asking if he had enough supplies, the correct coordinates, etc.

"Rex! I'll be fine!" Cody groaned. Again.

Rex sheepishly pulled away. "Sorry, I just am worried!"

Cody smiled. "I'll miss you too, Rex."

They hugged again and smiled at the other. "Even though I know what you're going to say, my offer to join me is still open."

Rex grinned. "Sorry, brother. But someone has to keep the Rebels fighting."

Both smiles faded at the similar words from before.

"Cody…" Rex hesitated, "I've heard stories about Kanan after The Order was given. He was… different." He glanced around to make sure no one was in earshot and then lowered his voice. "The General may not want to see you… and even if he does, it may not be for the best reasons."

If there was any fear in Cody's mind or heart, it didn't show in his stance or eyes. He simply straightened up and looked Rex in the eyes. "I will accept the punishment he deems necessary."

"That could mean… never coming back."

Cody hesitated. "I'll do my best, brother. And I'll send a message if I survive the… encounter."

"Remember, none of the Rebels know your destination- and you better keep it that way. We know the General, he's been hiding for a reason. If you do send a message, keep it short and coded."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Rex! I know!"

"I know you know." Rex smiled sadly and put his hands on Cody's shoulders. "But… Karabast, I'm worried about you."

The two hugged one last time before Cody finally boarded. He climbed into the cockpit and stared out the window at his younger brother. "Be safe, Rex."

The hangar doors opened and Cody started up his engines. A few minutes later, he was entering hyperspace, leaving the Rebel cell behind- and hopefully heading towards an old friend.

* * *

 **Oh dear... what is Cody going to do? Speculations anyone? See y'all real soon!**


	18. Tatooine

**And now, the moment we all know we were wanting in Star Wars Rebels! (Admit it, we all wanted Cody and Obi-Wan to run into one another, no matter how angsty it got. Thanks to those who left some lovely reviews. My response is pretty much the same to all of them: you will find out in just a second.**

* * *

Tatooine was officially the worst planet ever.

Cody wasn't surprised now that General Skywalker always complained about sand. He was so kriffing done with the gritty stuff getting all over him. The clone couldn't imagine living in it for ten years.

He mumbled a curse under his breath again as his foot slid over the dusty sand. This was the 7th time he had nearly tripped, and Cody was determined not to actually trip and fall face first into the hot dusty gritty stuff. That would be really uncomfortable.

Cody wondered why he was out in a desert in the first place! Then he mentally scolded himself for the thought. His General was out there… somewhere…

The clone continued to trudge across another sand dune, hefting his pack higher on his back. It felt like an eternity ago that he had landed in the little spaceport of Mos Eisley. It had taken a while (and a whole lot of associating and snooping around with smugglers and low life scum) to get even an idea of where General Kenobi might be.

He had had to pay nearly 50 credits to get one bit of information from a extremely dubious character in a bar. The alien (Cody couldn't identify what type of alien he was) had whispered to him about a man, always wearing a long robe, who occasionally visited Mos Eisley every few months.

The alien swore that several people had seen glimpses of a silver tube fastened to the man's belt that looked awfully like a lightsaber, weapon of choice of the long dead mystical Order of the Jedi. And, he had whispered conspiringly, the _man can make anyone do his binding with a wave of his hand!_

Cody wasn't sure about his general using the Force so frivolously, but it was the only lead he had, so he started to prepare for a desert trek.

Turns out, he could have simply waited for another day before having those rumors confirmed for himself.

Cody had been trying to secure a good water supply, when he had the feeling someone was watching him. He casually gripped his blaster and slowly turned his head around. Nothing. He was probably just being paranoid.

The water vendor caught his attention again with grunts and squeals and Cody quickly pulled out the credits. He slung the bag over his shoulder and turned around. When he looked up from his wallet, he found the eyes that he had felt.

A man in a dark brown cloak stood several feet away, his gaze locked on the clone. For a brief second, Cody locked eyes with the stranger and he immediately recognized the gray color. Too shocked to move, Cody watched as General Kenobi quickly turned away and vanished into the crowds.

The clone knew it was pointless to chase him. A Jedi knew how to hide.

But he followed the whispered directions from his previous contact into the desert and to the strange rock formations in the Jundland Wastes. Slipping over the sand again, the clone began walking through the winding passages of red rock, eyes roving over cliffs, watching for any sign of danger- or his general.

He didn't find his General- but he did find a hut. Cody glanced around the valley, but unable to see any other civilization, he began to wander over to the dusty house.

The suns were starting to go down, much to Cody's relief. Nothing was worse than two suns beating down on your back while hiking a desert. When he reached the hut, he looked around at the surroundings.

The inhabitant (or inhabitants) did not appear to be a moisture farmer, as there wasn't any equipment for that type of work. They also had no droid parts lying around, which meant they did not fix or build droids.

Cody got up his courage and knocked on the door. "Excuse me! I was wondering if it would be alright for me to camp out front of your hut tonight."

No answer. Not even a sound.

At least in Cody's perspective.

Inside the hut, an old Jedi was standing in the center of the floor, a hand gripping his lightsaber and praying to the Force that the clone would lose interest and leave. He couldn't stand to hear the voice of a clone. He couldn't allow the soldier- not his men, not his men anymore- to find out who he was. He had no doubt in his mind that if he did, he would be killed on the spot, just like all his fallen brothers and sisters.

That, or Obi-Wan would be forced to kill him- a thought the Jedi couldn't stand. He had already tried to kill another brother- and that had not gone well. In the slightest. He took a shaky breath as the memories rushed back to him. Mustafar. Lava. 'I hate you!' Betrayal.

Outside, Cody knocked again. "Hello? Anyone home?"

Obi-Wan jolted out of his nightmares and backed into another one, hitting a teacup off the table as he reeled back in shock. He _knew_ that voice.

"Hello? I know you're in there. Just a simple yes or no. I'm not going to hurt you."

The Jedi could barely hold himself together at this point. That was Cody. No mistake about it.

He couldn't kill Cody. Not his commander. Not his friend. Not his brother.

Cody shifted outside for a second before speaking again. Call it what you would, intuition or the Force, but he suddenly felt like he knew who lived here. Gently, he asked "General?"

 _Kriff_. Obi-Wan stepped further away from the door, not caring about the noise anymore. He smothered a scream with a tight clasp over his mouth, trying to not fall to the ground and sob.

"General… If that's you I just-" Cody couldn't speak for a moment, unable to believe he had gotten into this situation. "I'm sorry. I-" He couldn't continue, but fell to his knees and hung his head, trying to keep the tears in.

Obi-Wan had to bite his hand from screaming this time, and he fell to the ground, trembling. His lightsaber dropped from nerveless fingers with a thud, and rolled a few feet away from him.

"You… You have to believe me when I say, I didn't want to do it, sir." Cody gasped out, trying to keep himself from shaking with fear. He wasn't afraid of dying. He wasn't even afraid of his general's lightsaber. But he was afraid that Obi-Wan wouldn't believe him. Cody was willing to suffer any punishment deemed worthy by his general- but he would never be able to live with himself if Kenobi thought he had wanted to shoot him.

Inside, Obi-Wan was trying to hold himself together- too shocked at the turn of the situation. His commander- his Cody- was sitting at his door begging for forgiveness. The Jedi couldn't take it. He almost wished the man would try and kill him because he had no idea what to do.

Cody took a shaky breath, "I- I- I- know you will never trust me again… An- and I deserve that. But p-please, sir. Say something…" The commander was unable to keep in his tears any longer. "Shout. _Scream_. _**Kriff, kill me**_! But please, do something!"

Obi-Wan completely collapsed. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, and he certainly couldn't do as the clone requested- kill Cody?

Outside, Cody stared at the door, now one hundred percent sure it was his General. He waited. And waited. And waited. He didn't know how long he stood there before he finally lost any hope. Unable to stand, he collapsed against the door and began to sob. "General! I-I'm sorry! I'm so so so so sorry!" He was unable to speak again after that, the sobs nearly choking him to death.

Neither knew how long they sat. It felt like days. Like years. Finally, Obi-Wan shifted on the ground and shakily stood. Outside, his commander still sobbed and the Jedi couldn't bear to hear one more second of the pained cries from Cody. He didn't care what happened anymore at that point. He was willing to accept anything, he was willing to accept death if this was all a trick. If he could only know that Cody's cries had been silenced and he had been comforted, Obi-Wan would gladly take whatever came his way.

Cody was sure when the door swished open that he was going to die. He was sure he would hear the familiar whoosh and buzz of a lightsaber, ready to strike. He was sure he would be dead in a matter of seconds. And he was ok with that. He deserved this. So when a person fell to their knees in front of him and tightly wrapped him in an embrace, Cody's mind froze.

He stiffened under the warm familiar arms and cautiously turned his head to see a head buried in his shoulder. The figure- the General, Obi-Wan- was shaking and Cody was slightly alarmed to find that the Jedi was crying. Hands grasped at his tunics, pulling tightly as the fingers worked through the fabric almost anxiously, as if their owner was scared this was all a dream. Cody felt his cries returning as Obi-Wan whispered in a tear stained voice, "Commander...Cody...Cody...Brother…"

He let out a trembling sob, and collapsed against the Jedi, burying his own his face into the rough robe on his general's shoulder. They stayed in the embrace for what the clone was sure was over an hour, sobbing and gently rocking each other, trying to comfort the other. Finally after an eternity, the crying ceased. Each man still held the other tightly in an embrace, but both were silent. Cody broke the silence first.

"Kriff...kriff, General I- I can't say how sorry I am. I-I- just…"

Obi-Wan pulled back from hugging the clone, moving his hands to tightly grasp the shoulders of his commander. "No. None of that, Cody."

"But-"

The Jedi gently but firmly shook the clone, red rimmed grey eyes locking on with the bloodshot hazel eyes steadily. "Commander, you may apologize all you want, but I'm not having any of it."

Cody slumped slightly and hung his head, but Obi-Wan kept talking.

"Cody, you have nothing in the galaxy to apologize for. Nothing. I don't blame you for anything, do you hear? Not one thing. You had no control. You didn't know what you were doing. None of you did. I cannot blame someone for something they had no control over. You did nothing wrong. Nothing. You were used and manipulated by Darth Sidious, and for letting that happen, I am sorry."

The clone's head snapped up at that and he shook his head. "No, no General, it's-it's not your fault."

Obi-Wan sighed, dropping his eyes slightly. "Maybe not directly, but I should have noticed. I should have known. He-he was right under my nose and I didn't notice what was plainly in front of my eyes. I should have known…"

The Jedi took a shaky breath, and Cody knew from being a close friend that there was something else going through the man's head. Something that was far worse than the inhibitor chips implanted in all the clones. But he didn't push. He knew the Jedi was still pretty overwhelmed emotionally, and, if he was being honest, so was he.

Silence filled the air again. Suddenly, Obi-Wan stood up. "Where are my manners? We're sitting out in the cold desert and I have some warm water for tea. Come in, come, come." He disappeared into the hut leaving a very confused clone on his doorstep.

Cody shook his head, trying to get his thoughts straight. 'Well, that was a strange change of subject…' He stood up and followed his general inside.

The hut was not lavishly furnished and not very well lit. One small table was placed in the corner and a fireplace was lit with a pot hanging over the fire. It was in the small living area, Cody finally got a good look at his aged General.

He was quite shocked to see the white hair and wrinkles. The man seemed to have aged dramatically over the past years. And although the Jedi moved slower, Cody had no doubt that he could still fight a thousand battle droids head on.

Obi-Wan poured the water into the teapot and motioned for the clone to sit down. "Cody… It's so good to see you."

"You too, General."

Obi-Wan shook his head, "None of that. I'm not a general anymore. You can call me Ben."

"Ben, sir?" Cody tilted his head slightly confused. His face cleared suddenly and he frowned. "You mean what Tile used to call you over the radio?"

"Is there anything wrong with that, Cody? And just Ben."

The clone watched the Jedi make the tea for a moment, trying to remember if Obi-Wan had ever found out what that name stood for. He slowly responded, "No… and with all due respect, I don't think I can do that, sir."

Ben, apparently, glared at the clone, "Cody, we're not in the army anymore. There is no need for titles."

"But sir-"

"No buts! I insisted throughout the war you call me by my name and gave up after six months. But now we're in my home and I am not going to have you call me General or sir. Got it?"

Cody didn't answer but took a sip of tea from his cup. He knew that he wouldn't be able to call his general by what he had requested for the first couple of months for sure. It would take some time getting used to the 'new' name. The other man's grey eyes narrowed slightly, and he leaned forward.

"Cody, I know what you're thinking." Kriff, he sometimes forgot how perceptive his general was. "I know that you probably won't call me Ben all the time, but please try to break the habit of calling me 'sir' or 'General'. I never did like those titles and I don't think I'm qualified to have them."

"Well, I think you are sir. Any other General I've served under has been-" Cody cut himself off and closed his eyes, trying to block out the bad memories. Working under the Empire had not been a pleasant experience for him, or any of his surviving brothers. He couldn't tell you the number of times he would comfort his brothers in their sleep, all of them unable to cry in their trapped minds.

A warm hand on his knee snapped him out of the bad memories. Ben looked concerned at his old friend. "Was it really that bad?"

"Worse, sir- er, Ben." He tried the name out and found it a little strange in his mouth. Mentally, he shrugged. He'd get used to it.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Cody." Ben gently squeezed the clone's knee and gave him a gentle smile. "It's so nice to see you again."

Cody smiled back. He was relieved his General wasn't angry with him, but… "Sir?"

Ben raised an eyebrow and Cody quickly corrected himself, "I mean… Ben."

"Yes, Cody?"

"...I failed you once, sir."

"Cody, you didn't fail-"

"Please, let me finish." Cody gathered his thoughts again, then launched into his explanation. "I failed you once. I don't want to fail you again… Would you mind if I…?" His question died in his throat and he looked down his hands. His request seemed so childish and immature.

Lucky for him, his general was a Jedi. And Jedi are very good at reading people. "Cody… Would you like to stay with me on Tatooine?"

The clone eagerly jumped on the sentence, "Yes, sir. If that's alright with you, sir."

Ben frowned slightly and thought for a moment. He finally spoke. "Two conditions: the first being no calling me sir. Obi-Wan or Ben, only."

Cody mumbled an apology and looked up eagerly for the second condition.

"Two… I am on a mission of utmost importance, Cody. It is highly classified and nobody, not even the resistance, knows about it. If you wish to stay, you may help me, but you cannot ask any questions. I will tell you what I can, but you must not pry further than that. If you do, I will have no choice but to send you away." Obi-Wan looked as serious as the day he took Cody into battle against General Grievous.

A little miffed, Cody frowned. He put his fingers to his mouth and thought for a moment. The conditions were simple enough, but Cody was curious by nature. It's what kept him alive all these years. To not question orders- the very thing he had been forced to do for almost 20 years- was something Cody hesitated to do.

Yet… This was Obi-Wan. His general. His friend. His brother. And the man had never steered him wrong before. Did Cody trust him enough to not question him?

That answer was a resounding, 'yes'.

"Well then, General. It looks like you have a commander again."

"Obi-Wan, Cody. Obi-Wan."

"Sorry… Obi-Wan…"

It would take some getting used to, but Cody thought he finally found a purpose again. He rather enjoyed it.

* * *

Rex received a transmission two months after Cody had left. Rex laughed at the message, much to everyone's confusion. After all, no one quite understood it.

 _"Found the original pillow user. Very fluffy and still hates when I ruffle his feathers. Detour away from new base. -Vod Pillow"_

Ezra read the message three times before finally giving up. "What does it mean, Rex?"

"Nothing, Ezra… Just an old friend sharing a joke."

"That is not a joke."

Hera rolled her eyes, "Let it go, Kai."

"Fine!" Ezra threw his arms in the air. "I was just wondering!"

* * *

 **Aww...Any guesses to what B. E. N. stands for? If you guess it correctly, you get a lot of cookies!**


	19. A Jedi and his Pillow

**This chapter is super short and mostly fluff but who cares? Most of this story was pure literal fluff as our pillow runs around in this crazy galaxy. And no one has correctly guessed what Ben stands for yet, but I am enjoying all of the ideas floating around. Keep them coming and here is a hint: it has something to do with a certain medic. (;**

* * *

It had been about a month since Cody had come to Tatooine and it was the first time in a long time that he had to comfort Obi-Wan.

The two had fallen asleep after a long day wandering the desert, talking to natives (many of which Cody could not understand), and following a strange young man around from the distance.

To be honest, Cody had to bite his tongue sometimes to prevent a question from slipping out of his mouth. The boy seemed to be nobody special, just an orphan living with his aunt and uncle. Through the uncle, Cody had found out the boy's name was Luke, and Obi-Wan seemed to have an obsession with the boy, for no apparent reason.

But he held his tongue and obeyed his orders, every once in awhile given a tiny tidbit of knowledge. Not a lot, but a tiny bit.

That night, the two exchanged tidings of a good night sleep and laid down on their sleeping pads.

Around midnight, Obi-Wan started to mumble in his sleep. Cody didn't wake up until an especially loud moan escaped the Jedi's mouth. Then he snapped up and looked around, a little confused.

"... No… Anakin…"

Cody quickly moved to Obi-Wan's side. He gently shook the man, softly telling him to wake up. Unfortunately, the Jedi didn't seem to hear him.

"Anakin… Please…" he moaned and tossed in his sleep, growing a little more desperate.

Cody attempted to wake him up, shaking him harder and calling to Obi-Wan, telling him it was just a bad dream. But the man didn't listen and his mumbling grew louder and louder. Cody didn't know what to do.

"Obi-Wan!"

"No… No… No! Anakin!" The man suddenly shot up and Cody found himself shoved back by invisible hands.

He let out a cry of pain as he flew into the table, flipping backwards and over, crashing to the floor.

"Cody!"

The clone heard the Jedi shuffle towards him and he groaned. "Ugh… General, I forget how hard you can throw… Ow…"

"Force, I am so sorry! Are you alright? I didn't break anything, did I?" He pulled his friend to his feet and began to search for injuries.

Cody gently slapped the hands away and rubbed the back of his head, "I'm fine, sir."

"Ben, Cody. Ben."

"Right. Sorry." Cody stretched out his arms and back, checking for any sore spots. He flinched slightly and felt the scrape from the table in his legs. "Kriff, remind me to never try and wake you up from a nightmare again."

Ben's face fell slightly and he didn't say anything. He walked over to the kitchen area and began to make tea.

Cody didn't remember his general drinking so much tea in the war days- but that may have just been his poor memory. He sat down at the small table and watched Ben make the beverage.

The two sipped in silence for several minutes before Cody spoke up, "Sir- I mean, Obi-Wan. Do you… want to talk about your dream?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Cody. I'm fine."

The man was clearly not fine. His hands were still slightly shaking and his eyes were deep gray. And even though this was his favorite tea, he didn't appear to be enjoying it.

Cody remembered that Ben had been calling for Anakin, but when the clone had tried to bring up the younger Jedi's fate previously, Ben had shut him down before he even got the question out. Whatever had happened to Anakin Skywalker, it obviously hadn't been good. So Cody remained quiet.

When both had finished their drinks, Ben stood up and cleaned up the tea. He then said goodnight and started over to his sleeping pad again.

Cody hesitated then called, "Ben?"

Ben paused and looked back.

"I," The clone hesitated, then slowly began to speak. "I know you don't want to talk about your nightmare but… do you need the pillow tonight?"

Obi-Wan stared at him for a moment, his face not betraying his thoughts or emotions. Then a small smile appeared, "That would be very nice, Cody, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, sir- I mean, Obi-Wan." Cody sat down on the couch and motioned for the jedi to sit beside him.

Ben slowly moved over and sat down. He leaned his head against Cody's shoulder and closed his eyes. Cody wrapped an arm around him and gently squeezed his shoulder. Ben let out a soft sigh, a small smile appearing.

"Goodnight, Obi-Wan."

"Goodnight, Pillow."

Cody rolled his eyes but chuckled softly. Soon, the Jedi was sleeping peacefully.

The ex-commander didn't fall back asleep until early in the morning, just before the sun rose. He was too busy making sure his brother didn't have another nightmare. And if the man ever showed signs of discomfort or fear, Cody would gently mumble in the Jedi's ear or rub his back to reassure him that he wasn't alone.

After all, Cody was the best pillow in the small hut.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed. We are getting down to the end! Anyone else excited?**


	20. A New Hope

**Based on the title, you can guess what this chapter is about. However: THIS IS NOT THE END. We still have a few chapters to go (I believe two) before this officially wraps up. Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

It had been about two years since Cody had joined Obi-Wan on Tatooine. Cody was still very much in the dark on what his general's mission was, other than it had to do with the strange boy, Luke. Cody had gotten used to calling the Jedi by his real name (or new name), although he would still slip back into 'sirs' and 'general' every now and then.

They would camp outside, hike in the desert, and drink tea. Every now and then, Cody would take an old blaster and do some target practice using womp rats and rocks. Never once had Cody seen his General pull out his lightsaber, but he did notice the man still carried it on his belt.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable time for both Jedi and clone. But it wasn't always all pleasantries. Just like in the old days, the two still argued about the other's health and well-being. Nightmares were not uncommon for either and neither was ever willing to share much. Then there were those strange incidents that Cody and Ben were unable to prepare for.

Such as the one that was taking place at that moment.

Cody was furious with his General- Er… friend. Again.

You know, he had been starting to think those days were over. But no, Luke had to show up with R2-D2, Anakin Skywalker's droid, one Cody hadn't seen in years, and C3PO, another droid from the past, with a distress message from a Miss Leia Organa. And now his brother was about to head off on some crazy mission with a kid who gave Cody the creeps and two droids that didn't even know who Obi-Wan was anymore.

Probably a good thing as they would have recognized him and thus blown Obi-Wan's cover.

Of course, if they hadn't shown up, then Cody wouldn't have had to have been hiding in the back room, unable to hear a lot of the conversation but enough to get the idea of what was going on.

Obi-Wan was leaving- and something told Cody he wasn't invited.

The noise up front died down and Cody heard Ben ask Luke to wait outside while he grabbed something in the back. Cody quickly stepped away from the door and waited.

When the Jedi walked in Cody crossed his arms and glared, growling, "Absolutely not."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "You didn't even hear what I was going to tell you."

"I know you well enough to know your thoughts, Ben Kenobi. And I am completely against this!"

"Senator Organa's daughter has personally asked me to assist her in bringing plans to her father on Alderaan. You remember Senator Organa, don't you Cody?"

"Yes." Cody had briefly met the man a few times and had thought he was very kind and noble to his beliefs and homeworld. "But I know for a fact that you are not going to let me come."

Ben hesitated at that then gave a knowing smile. "You know me too well, Cody."

"Obi-Wan, you cannot leave this planet."

"Cody, do you really think you can prevent me from leaving?"

The clone hesitated before shaking his head. "No, Ben."

"Then help me pack, please."

The two moved about in silence, grabbing credits and other necessities. The packing went quickly, each absorbed in the other's thoughts. Cody handed Ben a meiloorun and watched the Jedi throw it in the bag.

"You know, times like these I miss Bacta."

Ben looked up, his face a little terrified at the thought. "Well, I certainly do not!"

The two shared a smile and fell silent again. Obi-Wan threw the pack over his shoulder and looked at Cody, his eyes shining slightly. Cody pulled the man into an embrace and blinked back tears. "Sir, if you're not back in two weeks, I'm going to hunt you down and make you wish you'd never survived Order 66."

"I'll do my best, Cody. Just don't burn my hut down while I'm gone."

"I'm not that bad at cooking!"

Cody pulled away and looked at his ex-General. He snapped into attention and saluted the Jedi. Ben looked a little exasperated but gave a small salute back. "Goodbye, Cody."

"Goodbye, Obi-Wan."

Then he was gone.

* * *

 **My Padawan and I wanted to keep this as close to the originals as possible, which is why we have Cody stay on Tatooine. Which means the next chapter is about Cody finding out about his General's death. Oh boy...**

 **On a completely different note,** ** _Antonia Rose_ did not guess the original BEN. However, Padawan and I LOVED her idea more than our own so the original name (Bacta's Escaping Nuciance) is being changed to Antonia Rose's wonderful idea, "Bacta's Eternal Nightmare."**

 **That changes your perspective on that name, doesn't it? Hi, Ben! How are you? *Bacta glares on, clearly angry***

 **Reviews are always appreciated!**


	21. Skywalker and Memories

**Get ready for some ANGST. And also FLUFF. And that statement pretty much summarizes this story up. Have fun!**

* * *

Cody had been preparing a meal when he heard it. The unmistakable noise someone approaching the hut. He assumed it was the Sand People coming to raid the house again. Cody sighed and locked himself beneath the house- _again_.

Obi-Wan had been very adamant about not harming the locals unless necessary. The clone was willing to follow the old rules even with the Jedi absent.

Imagine his surprise when a young voice called out, "Anyone here?"

A beeping noise responded to the man and Cody immediately recognized the droid noises.

"I know, R2, but someone might have moved in or something."

Beep, boop, whirl.

"Well, it's been abandoned for a few months, what do you expect?"

Cody tried to place the voice and debated if he should come out of his hiding spot. The young man was shuffling around turning crates over and searching for something. The clone really didn't like someone going through his general's stuff…

"Come on, Ben. You had to have left something…"

Cody froze. It was the boy… Luke. So if he was here and R2 was here and Ben left something for Luke then…

Cody fought back tears but didn't make a sound. His General couldn't be gone… could he?

R2's 'voice' snapped Cody back to the two visitor's conversation.

"Yeah, R2, I know. But Ben told me to come here. He must have left- aha!" Cody heard something scrape across the floor and a box swung open. "Look, R2! Journals! Ben must have written them since he came to Tatooine. There has to be some information to help in here."

Cody wasn't sure how long he stayed hidden; it may have been hours. His legs were starting to cramp and he was falling asleep standing up. It was better than breaking down and being discovered.

"Uh… I wonder who this was for, R2?"

BEEP. BOOP. WHIRL.

"It just says on the front, 'To my best Pillow.'"

Cody froze.

"I'll just put it on the table." There was a pause. "We should get going, R2."

The droid let out a noise of relief and Luke laughed. "It's not that bad! Come on, Leia is waiting for our return." The two stomped out of the hut and Cody counted to thirty before rushing out of his hiding spot.

In the corner was a large trunk that appeared to be empty now- Cody suspected that was where the journals had been. Placed on the table was a thin book addressed to the clone in Ben's handwriting.

Cody's hands were shaking as he opened the book. There was no date addressed on the page, it just started with ' _Cody_ '.

 _"If you're reading this… I'd rather not say it. But I can tell you a few things about it. You should know that it was my choice and my path to follow. Nothing you could have done would have stopped it."_

Cody cursed his stubborn General.

" _Now onto more important matters."_

What the kriff could be more important than his General's death?

" _Luke_."

Cody had to ask.

" _You have often wondered why the boy is so special, but as a loyal commander, you've never directly asked, but waited for me to tell you. Although I cannot say everything, Luke is the galaxy's last hope."_

The clone paused there and frowned. It wasn't like Ben to be overdramatic in a serious matter. So whatever was up with the teen, it must have been important.

 _"The first thing you should know is his full name is Luke Skywalker. I don't know why I'm telling you this, as this book may be intercepted before you read it. The rest of this journal is blank of the mention. When you are finished with this page; burn it. No one from the Republic era or the risen Empire can know this. His life depends on it. Please make sure he doesn't accidentally kill himself. I know he will return to Tatooine eventually_."

Skywalker… as in General Skywalker? The man who lead the 501st and who was his General's old padawan? The man who literally drove every rule keeper up the walls with his tactics and style? But if Luke was a Skywalker…

Mentally, Cody did the math. Luke was about 21… and if he recalled correctly, the Empire rose about 21 years earlier. So Luke would technically have been able to have been born before or right after Anakin's death.

The clone rolled his eyes and almost laughed. "Leave it to Anakin to break the Jedi Code…"

" _The second and final thing is very simple. May the Force be with you."_

Cody facepalmed. "Of all the things to say, General…"

He tore out the first page and threw it in the fireplace, then lit the wood. Might as well before he forgot… and with the current state of his mind, that would be highly likely. Obi-Wan had asked him to watch the boy- so that's what he would do.

Cody packed up his few belongs and threw the journal into his bag before hurrying out the door. Luke's tracks were still in the sand and Cody began to follow them.

When night fell, the clone had long caught up with the boy. Luke was 'camping' around a fire, sleeping peacefully with R2 standing guard. Cody stayed up on a ridge and laid as a guard. By the light of the moon, he began to read the journal.

Most of the entries were accounts of old memories from the Clone Wars, such as the time Waxer accidentally glued his armor to the training equipment when a prank of his went wrong. Or the time Obi-Wan had brought some new shinies into the group and Cody had told them yet another variation of the story how he got his scar.

Cody smiled at all the memories and wiped away a few tears at the names of his fallen brothers. It was comforting to know that his General didn't just remember the battles, but the brothers and their stories as well.

After a few entries, he flipped through the remainder of the book, just scanning the tales and names. When he got to the back cover, he froze. Beforehand, Cody hadn't noticed how thick the binding had been on the journal. But now he saw it was actually rather thick for such a thin book. In the back was an old holo-viewer. Cody pulled it out of its 'casing' and examined it for a moment before turning it on.

The first picture was a large group, as much of the 212th as possible shoved onto the screen, smiling and making faces. Cody stood in the center, pinching his nose in annoyance and looking a tad annoyed. Holding the camera was a grinning Waxer, who had somehow snuck into the picture, only capturing the side of his head.

Cody shook his head, laughing softly before heading to the next holo.

Cody was covered in mud, with Obi-Wan standing next to him, completely clean of any of the brown muck, smirking at the clone who was attempting to look annoyed, but failing miserably as he was smiling slightly and trying to hold in laughter.

The next photo was probably taken during a briefing, as both Cody and Obi-Wan had on their 'serious' faces.

On and on the photo album went. Some were of Cody, some were of the Jedi and some didn't have either of them in the picture. Clones, brothers, sometimes with General Skywalker and Commander Tano.

In one picture a single clanker stood, looking a little concerned at how many clones had him surrounded. The next picture contained a very happy brother waving the head of the now destroyed droid in front of the camera. Several were most likely taken by Bacta when no one was looking, as they were of the large cuddle piles and parties thrown by Ti for his brothers 'birthday', all of which Bacta was very persistent on avoiding- yet somehow always there at the same time.

The last picture made Cody tear up and feel ever so lonely again. Obi-Wan looked exhausted, yet peaceful, leaning against a sleeping Cody. The two were both fast asleep and each seemed to find comfort in the other brother in the brief rest from the battle.

Cody had the sneaking suspicion it was the same photo Waxer had snapped of the two the day Obi-Wan used Cody as a pillow for the first time since becoming his General. And he was ever grateful for it.

That night, Cody slept peacefully, watching over Luke while reliving old memories.

He didn't know that a certain Jedi was smiling at him from beyond the grave, quietly laughing to himself.

* * *

 **GAH, THE ANGST. Cody didn't even get to say goodbye, WHY?**

 **Oh wait, I wrote this... Whoops.**

 _ **Master, why do you do this to me? To yourself?**_

 **Honestly, I don't know. Anyway, reviews are always appreciated and any critisism is great.**

 **Up next: THE FINAL CHAPTER**


	22. The Nightmare is Over

**And now, the end of an era. Hope y'all enjoy!**

* * *

Cody was tired.

He was laying on a sleeping pad, in his General's old hut, staring up at the ceiling, trying to keep his eyes open.

The war had ended. The Rebellion had won. Luke was safe- and had saved the galaxy, as Obi-Wan had predicted. Although Cody was not present during that final battle, he had heard his brother's eye witness account when Rex had come to bring the good news to him on Tatooine.

Rex… Rex was now helping train the newcomers to the New Republic. Someone had to whip the shinies into shape. The two brothers talked every week, sharing stories- in Cody's case not so exciting as Rex's tales.

Every week Rex always reminded Cody that the clone had a place in the training facility if he wanted it. But Cody was done with fighting. Done with war. He never wanted to see a blaster again.

That and Tatooine seemed to have captured the man's heart and soul. True, the sand was still kriffing annoying, but the planet seemed to be his last desperate hold on the memory of his Jedi General.

Cody had kept Luke safe on Tatooine, whether the boy knew it or not. He watched from the distance and never approached him. Cody would watch him leave the planet and then patiently wait for a call from Rex, who would warn him the boy was coming back. The clone couldn't count the times that Boy had gotten into trouble. Sometimes Cody wasn't able to follow him- and it drove him mad!

If he had to rescue one more Jedi, Cody swore he'd throw himself into the Sarlacc pit. Jedi were too stubborn to know when to quit. Case in point: the time Luke surrendered to the Hutts to rescue his friends.

You can bet Cody was watching through his binoculars. You can bet he was cursing the boy's stupidity and foolishness that somehow worked out in the end. Kriffing Skywalker luck. It either was a blessing or a curse- and Cody really didn't want to find out.

After all these years, all these deaths, and all these adventures, the clone was tired. He had fulfilled his missions, his battles, and his assignments. He had served his General as a good soldier should- loyal and willing. He had done everything anyone had ordered him to- some orders at a cost to his conscience and his will. And he was tired of it.

Cody was snapped out of his thoughts at a small chuckle, " _We're all tired of it."_

The clone looked around and tried to find the source. He knew that voice. But- but it was impossible.

 _"Nothing is impossible if you trust in the Force."_

Nope. Only Obi-Wan would say something like that. Cody smiled and looked around, fighting back tears, "Sir?"

A tsking noise was heard followed by a sigh, _"Cody, I told you to call me Ben. Or Obi-Wan. You know this."_

"Sorry, Ben. Old habits die hard." Cody tried to sit up but found that his energy had seemed to have vanished. In his right hand, he gripped the old holo-viewer with the photos of his past brother's and sister. "Where are you?"

 _"Sitting right next to you. Of course, you can't see me. It's rather hard to see a ghost without a strong connection to the Force."_

Cody smiled and turned on the holo, eyes fixed on the old photo of Obi-Wan asleep on Cody's shoulder. "I can see you well enough, Obi-Wan."

 _"I take it you liked my present?"_

"Very much. Although I prefer the real you to a holo." Cody leaned back and smiled up at the ceiling. "I was so mad when I found out you weren't coming back to Tatooine."

 _"Our paths lied in different directions, Cody."_

"Luke was as stubborn as you."

Obi-Wan chuckled, " _You don't know the half of it."_

"And I don't want too." Cody sighed and closed his eyes, exhaustion taking over. "Obi-Wan… I'm so tired."

 _"I know, Cody. As am I. But I think we'll both find peace very soon."_

Cody felt tears begin to stream down his face. He had already known deep inside what was happening. But for the sake of Rex, he had denied it. A brother never leaves a man behind… and Cody didn't want to start now. But no matter how hard he tried, there was no strength left in his body. Panic seemed to seize his mind and he felt the urge to cry out in terror.

A cool breeze whisked past the clone's face and a soft voice whispered, " _Shhh…. It's alright. You're alright."_

"General… Ben… I- I don't-"

 _"I know, Cody. I know. But it's time."_ A soft chuckle was heard, " _Why do you think I'm here?"_

Cody felt the tears streaming down his face and made no attempt to conceal them. "I guess I always thought I would die in the middle of a battlefield like all clones, not alone in a hut… Even 99 was a true soldier."

Although Cody couldn't see the Jedi, he had the feeling that Obi-Wan was shaking his head and pinching his nose. " _Cody, Cody, Cody…. What am I going to do with you?"_

"Uh…"

" _Don't answer that."_

"Yes, sir."

" _Obi-Wan, Cody. OBI-WAN."_

"I'm sorry, sir- Obi-Wan. I'm too tired to argue anyway…" Cody's grip tightened on the holo-projector that was trying to slip out of his weakening fingers. "What's going to happen to Rex?"

 _"Rex isn't as young as he thinks either. He'll be joining you soon."_

"Does it hurt… to die?"

Obi-Wan didn't answer immediately. " _Actually, I don't know. I didn't exactly die a normal death. It was more of a swish and then I was dead_."

"Well, you're useless."

" _Sorry, Cody…"_ Obi-Wan sighed, " _But there's no need to be afraid. Fear only keeps you in the dark and prevents you from experiencing the joys of life."_

"Obi-Wan, I'm dying."

" _Which you then live through the Force. It's time to be that annoyingly stubborn commander I've known and calm your fear._ "

Cody wanted to slap his General. Again. But he was too weak to lift his arm and unable to touch the ghost so the entire thing would be a little pointless. "Obi-Wan… I never really thought I'd… well, die like this. In the Clone Wars, no one thought they'd ever die, but then they did and then we all mourned to the best of our abilities and then we'd march on only to watch more brother's die and then when Order 66 came we killed hundreds of Jedi brothers and sisters and watched more brothers get killed by them in self-defense and then we'd-"

" _Cody, you're rambling. Calm down."_

The clone took a deep breath and let it go slowly, "I guess what I'm trying to say is….after everything I've been through, this is how I'm going to die. Alone, in the desert, from old age." Tears streamed down his face, "Even 99 had brothers to mourn him after his passing. I'll just be… a forgotten memory." The holo-projector slipped out of his hand and clattered to the floor, sending a new wave of sorrow through his heart and mind. He longed to reach out and grab it again but found it impossible to move.

A soft hand gently placed the projector back into the weak clone's hand, placed it over his heart. "You're not alone, brother."

Cody managed to lift his heavy eyelids and squint through the tears. The features were hard to make out, and the colors were hard to see, but Cody would never forget that face. "Rex?"

The man smiled and squeezed Cody's hand. "Time to let go."

Cody closed his eyes and put on a brave smile. And then he slipped into the dark.

* * *

Light.

A very bright light.

Cody was a little confused. Wasn't death sort of… death? He was sitting in a dark room with a doorway of light, inviting him. The clone hesitantly stood up-and was a little shocked at how easy it came to him. He looked down at his body and found that he was wearing his old Republic armor, a fact that greatly confused him.

"Cody."

Cody's eyes flew upward and he stared at the figure who had suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan smiled and walked towards the clone. "Surprised to see me?"

"Uh… You look…"

"Alive? Nice?"

"...Young." Cody stared at the ginger hair and bright eyes. The tunic was also from the Republic days and one that Cody had thought Obi-Wan had thrown away a long time ago.

"Have you looked at yourself?"

Cody was unable to look at his face, but he had the sneaking suspicion that his hair was no longer white and from the ease of movement, he didn't feel old. "Sir… what happened?"

Obi-Wan shook his head while chuckling softly. "I knew you'd go back to calling me 'sir', immediately when you turned into your younger self. As for what happened… well, you died."

"But… I don't feel dead."

"That's the beauty of the afterlife. It is never-ending"

Cody just blinked and tried to wrap his head around that concept. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and put his hands on the man's shoulders. "Don't try and understand it. Just accept it. Now come, there are people who want to see you." The Jedi gently pulled on the clone's arm and Cody began to walk.

"What? Who?"

"Well…" Obi-Wan and Cody walked through the door of light and Cody blinked several times, trying to see. "You'll find out very soon."

Before Cody's eyes were adjusted, someone slapped him across the face, sending him back into the Jedi's arms, who was apparently ready to catch him.

"HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU THINK I WAS LYING?" Fives crossed his arms and glared at the bewildered Commander.

Cody didn't know how to react to an angry Fives, but he definitely didn't know how to react to Bacta's sudden appearance and another slap.

"YOU IDIOT, YOU COULD HAVE DIED! WHY THE HECK DID YOU DO THAT?"

"Do what?" Cody was so confused.

Waxer slapped him next but didn't yell anything.

Cody threw his arms in the air. "What was that for?"

"Nothing," Waxer grinned. "I just wanted to slap you."

Obi-Wan chuckled at Cody's bewildered face.

The clone finally threw all of his knowledge on death and living aside and decided to just roll with it. He growled, "Why you little-" and jumped at Waxer, attempting to nugie his brother.

Waxer gave out a scream and ran in the opposite direction, with Boil rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "You're such an idiot!"

A sudden slam of force came from behind, almost sending Cody onto his face. Ti had come up and hugged his big brother from behind, his arms wrapped around the man's waist tightly. Cody was unable to get free of the younger clone's grip for the next five minutes, much to everyone's amusement and laughter (and Waxer's delight).

Faces and voices from pleasant past memories appeared and greeted their old friend. Echo and Fives introduced their training group, the Domino Squad. Cody practically threw his arms around an embarrassed Hevy before scolding him for being such a hero. He shook hands with Droidbait and Cutup before turning his attention to a waiting 99.

99 stood at a semi-attention, a large smile on his face. Cody gave him a gentle hug. "Good to see you, brother."

"I'm glad you're here Cody. Wooley has been having difficulty keeping your men in line."

Wooley threw his hands in the air. "It's not my fault the General kept trying to go back to the land of the living! Someone had to make sure he didn't just vanish into thin air."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "I was fine."

"NO YOU WERE NOT!" shouted practically every clone in the 212th. Cody covered his ears and took a moment to recover from his deafness before turning a questioning eye to Obi-Wan.

"It's a long story…" The Jedi ran his fingers through his hair, a little annoyed. "But to make it short as possible, someone had to help Luke stay on the right track. When the 212th found out I had to go back, they would literally hold me down and I had to just talk through the doorway, trying to sound as normal as possible. The only way I actually did make it out was when the 501st was willing to lend a hand… and that was only about five times- one of them being right before you died."

Cody could easily picture Waxer, Boil, and Ti sitting on top of the General while everyone else guarded the doorway… and he wasn't sure how he felt about the situation. "So… am I the last one here?"

99 shook his head. "No… Rex and Wolfe are the last ones. Everyone else is present."

"No, we are not!" Bacta shook his finger at the older clone. "Kix is still missing!"

Boil rolled his eyes. "Bacta! We've been over this. Kix went missing right after Fives died. If he's not up here, then where would he be?"

"Have you seen him?" Bacta growled.

Waxer slung his arm over Bacta's shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "No, but that doesn't mean he's not up here. You try finding someone up here!"

"I do! And I can! Kix. Is Not. Here."

"BACTA!" a dozen clones yelled, making Cody flinch away from the sound… again.

After seeing several more brothers, Obi-Wan managed to drag Cody away from the men. "He can join you later! Now go bug Anakin!"

Cody was a little confused about how the faces of the clones went from angry to happy in a split second and they ran off somewhere down the halls of-

Cody did a double take. "Uh… Obi-Wan?"

"Yes?"

"Why is the afterlife Kamino?"

The Jedi laughed. "It isn't really. It's just how you imagine it. For instance, I see the Jedi Temple. Most of the clones see Kamino. Now come, I want to introduce you to some of my friends."

* * *

The first friend was someone Cody had never seen in his life. But Obi-Wan seemed excited to introduce the two, so who was he to object?

He was an older man, with long brown hair. He was sitting on the ground, cross-legged, eyes closed and hands on his knees wearing the attire of a Jedi, tunic with a long brown robe. Cody tried to recall all the Jedi he had met over the years, and none of them seemed to match this one.

Obi-Wan motioned for Cody to wait in the doorway a moment before quietly approaching the figure. He said something that Cody couldn't hear to the Jedi and the man opened his eyes revealing a stubborn, but kind light inside. The two spoke softly for a moment before making their way over to Cody.

"Master," Obi-Wan started, gesturing to the clone. "This is Commander Cody. Cody, this is my Master, Qui-Gon Jinn."

Suddenly, Cody realized why his general was so excited. He quickly stood at attention and nodded politely. "It's an honor to meet you, sir. Obi-Wan has spoken highly of you."

Qui-Gon's gaze was steady and contemplative. He did not respond for a moment before his face broke into a small smile. He gave a small bow. "The honor is all mine. I'd like to thank you for keeping my Padawan safe. It isn't easy for a Master to leave their student alone. Obi-Wan has also spoken highly of you."

Cody shuffled his feet, a little embarrassed. "I'm glad to be of assistance. But I think it was more of Obi-Wan keeping me safe than the other way around." Memories of Order 66 came flooding back and Cody stiffened slightly. "It may have been better if I wasn't there, sometimes."

"Cody, I thought we had gotten through this, I don't blame you," Obi-Wan smiled gently. "Never have and I never will."

"You must learn to forgive yourself if you ever wish to be truly at peace." Qui-Gon nodded.

Cody pinched his nose, feigning exasperation. "Now I know where the General got his crypticness."

The two Jedi chuckled softly. The three exchanged a few more words before Obi-Wan excused them. Qui-Gon only let them leave once Cody agreed to drop by sometime and have a cup of tea (which made Cody roll his eyes. If Obi-Wan had turned out so much like Qui-Gon, why was Anakin so….Anakin?).

The next friend looked vaguely familiar. A woman with long blonde hair and a tall, resounding stance, wearing a long blue dress that finished the look of 'important figure'.

"Satine, this is Commander Cody. You may remember him from his short time escorting you to Coruscant. Cody, this is Duchess Satine of Mandalore."

Now Cody remembered her. Although he didn't remember her being so… happy. And he also didn't remember Obi-Wan smiling that much at her.

Satine gave a nod of the head and a smile. "How do you do, Commander?"

"Very fine, my lady." Cody gave a short bow to her.

"I hope you've kept Obi-Wan out of trouble."

"To the best of my abilities… Which means he still got in trouble." Cody grinned at Obi-Wan, who rolled his eyes.

Satine patted Cody on the shoulder. "I'm sure you did better than anyone else could of."

Obi-Wan wrapped his arm around Satine's waist. "He certainly tried."

The duchess shook her head and clicked her tongue. "My dear Obi-Wan. What are we going to do with you?"

Cody was still debating if he should comment about the sudden closeness of the Jedi and Duchess- but after a moment discarded the idea. The afterlife was a strange place and something told Cody that the Jedi Code was different here.

Next on the list was a very pleased Senator Amidala. Cody's conversation was short and brief, but the two promised to talk later.

On the way to Obi-Wan's last friend the two ran into a few more senators, clones, and Jedi, all called greeting to the two and Cody smiled at all of them.

His attention was caught by a sudden screaming, "AHHHHH!"

Obi-Wan looked at Cody, his eyes suddenly concerned. He sprinted off without a word and Cody ran after him. Whatever the clone had been expecting, this was not it.

Anakin Skywalker was standing in the middle of a room. Actually, standing wasn't the right term. He was more hanging from a light fixture off the ground, trying to avoid the dozens of clones that were trying to pull him down. The man looked up at the opening doors, panic in his eyes and practically screamed, "Master! Help me!"

Obi-Wan examined the situation for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "I think you can handle this on your own, Anakin."

"You're as useful as Snips!"

Said padawan** was standing off on the side, roaring with laughter at the sight of her terrified master. She managed to burst out, "Serves you right!" before falling onto the ground, completely losing it.

Ti stood off on the side, looking a little worried for Anakin's well-being. But every other clone had that crazy grin on their face before Anakin finally lost his grip and was dragged down. And thus the tickle-torture began.

Cody decided he would leave the clones and the Jedi, too afraid to ask what Anakin had done to deserve this. Obi-Wan followed behind, humming contently to himself.

"Uh… sir?"

"Yes, Cody."

"Well… what exactly do we do now? There is no war, no Empire, just…"

"Peace?"

"If you count the clones attacking General Skywalker as peace, then yes."

Obi-Wan laughed and sat down on a couch. "Now, we rest. Simple as that."

"I don't know if I can do that, sir."

"Well, I know I need it! I have been unable to sleep properly without my favorite pillow."

Cody rolled his eyes, but a smile broke out on his face, "Of course, sir." He settled down next to Obi-Wan, who immediately leaned on his shoulder and fell asleep.

This gave Cody the time and quiet to try and figure out what to make of this new 'life'. He tried to come up with an explanation and failed miserably every time. After almost an hour, he finally gave up and just accepted this new outcome.

Then he closed his eyes and leaned against his sleeping General.

The nightmare was finally over.

* * *

 ****Note: this was written before the Star Wars Rebels Finale and I love this joke so... Ahsoka's dead here. That's really the only thing that I think Padawan and I took liberty in.**

 **Also, I have no idea if the afterlife works like this in Star Wars, but it should! Everyone running around together and being very happy. Also giving Anakin a terrible time as punishment.**

 **ANYWAY-**

 ***CUE ENDING CREDIT THEME. BA BA BA BAAAA, BAAAAA, BA BA BA BAAAAAAAAA, BA, BA BA BA BAAAAAAAAA, BA, BA BA BA BAAA!***

 **Special thanks to my wonderful Padawan for enduring through this entire thing together. If you are all sad that it is over do not worry! We are going to post General Kanine very soon. Hope to see you all there. Please leave an overall review of what you thought of this story, it helps to improve our writing and can help us improve General Kanine before it is posted.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this ride and May the Force be with you all!**

 **Oceanera12 and _ArtyandTintinFan_**


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